By Hu Junyan
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said on April 27 that his department was not "aware of, nor is it a party to, any internal agreement with China" on the South China Sea dispute since the current administration took office in 2022. After Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., National Security Adviser Eduardo Año and others made similar remarks, the Philippine side once more publicly denied the "gentleman's agreement" reached between China and the Philippines on the Ren'ai Jiao issue.
However, the Philippines cannot play a rogue in the face of morality and facts. A brief review of related history will help understand the reasons for the conclusion of this "gentleman's agreement" and its content and role.
Ren'ai Jiao is an uninhabited reef located in China's Nansha Qundao. It is explicitly stipulated by Article 5 of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) signed by China and ASEAN countries, including the Philippines, that the status of uninhabited islands and reefs in the South China Sea should be maintained. The Philippines unlawfully grounded its warship BRP Sierra Madre on Ren'ai Jiao on May 9, 1999. After China lodged solemn representations, the Philippines promised to tow away the warship several times, stating that it would not be the first country to violate the DOC. However, 25 years have passed, and the Philippines hasn't fulfilled its promise to tow away the warship.
During the administration of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, a "gentleman's agreement" was reached between China and the Philippines to stabilize and manage the situation in the South China Sea. The Philippine side promised not to deliver construction materials to its illegally grounded warship; and China, based on humanitarian principles, made ad hoc arrangements for the Philippines to transport daily necessities to the illegally grounded warship. It is through the efforts that China and the Philippines chose to set aside disputes, excluded external interference and enabled a turnaround in bilateral relations. Since the current Philippine administration took office in June 2022, relevant departments and agencies of both sides also abided by the agreement until early February 2023. Besides, China has repeatedly informed and negotiated matters related to the "gentleman's agreement" with senior officials in the Philippine government. In 2023, the Chinese side invited the Philippine President's special envoy to China for consultations on the management of the situation at Ren'ai Jiao and reached an internal understanding. At the beginning of 2024, China had repeated discussions with the Philippines through diplomatic channels and reached a new model for the transportation and supply to Ren'ai Jiao. However, after being implemented only once, the relevant understanding and arrangement were unilaterally torn up by the Philippine side without reason.
It can be seen that the senior Philippine officials' claim of unawareness about the "gentlemen's agreement" reached between the previous administration and China is totally a lie. The outright denial makes two things clear to the outside world. First, the Philippine government is faithless and capricious. Second, disorder in the Philippines' political and diplomatic decision-making has become a normal condition.
Then, what makes the Philippine government behave faithlessly by transporting construction materials to its illegally grounded warship so frequently? A plausible reason is that the wrecked ship is now in so bad condition that the Philippines has to break its promise again and again. Another reason is that the Philippines attempts to leverage the power of the US to consolidate its illegally grounded warship so as to achieve permanent encroachment of Ren'ai Jiao. To this end, it is willing to act as a pawn for the US to intervene in regional affairs. During the recent visit of Philippine President Marcos to the US, some Philippine protestors pointed out that the Philippines is being dragged into the so-called "first island chain" by the US, as a part of the US geopolitical strategy to contain China. Some analysts also noted that to preserve its interests in the Asia-Pacific, the US tries to turn the Philippines into a "neocolony" and manipulate it to stir up the situation in the South China Sea and meddle in regional affairs to suppress China and maintain its global hegemony.
"If you're not at the table in the international system, you're going to be on the menu." There are nothing but interests in the eyes of the US. The US crossing the red line and deployment of medium-range ballistic missiles in the Philippines will further intensify regional tensions. The Philippines is in fact setting a fox to keep the geese and playing with fire by being busy serving the US. The outright denial of the "gentleman's agreement" between the China and the Philippines will only reduce the Philippines into a sinner guilty of disregarding history, losing faith and stirring up regional tension. Its only correct choice is to respect history, keep its promise, stop provocation and return to the track of dialogue and negotiation.
Editor's note: Originally published on news.cri.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
