Philippines defends unpublicized Ayungin deal with China

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

March 4, 2026 | 5:41pm

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, March 4, defended its deal with China over resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal, stating for the record that it does not require the Philippines to seek permission for missions and does not allow Chinese boarding of Philippine vessels.

This was a direct response to recent criticism from legal scholars and lawmakers who have questioned whether the 2024 agreement — which was never publicized — undermines the Philippines' 2016 arbitral award victory and effectively treats Philippine waters as disputed territory.

The DFA said the deal — crafted by then-Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Theresa Lazaro, now DFA secretary, and approved by National Security Adviser Eduardo Año — has governed 13 routine rotation and resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre since July 2024.

All 13 of these missions "had no reports of untoward incidents," Rogelio Villanueva, the DFA's spokesperson for maritime affairs, said.

"There is an inherent inconsistency and dullness of reasoning when critics criticize a document that they have not even seen," the DFA spokesperson said.

The deal, called the "provisional understanding" in government statements, sets out principles for both the Philippines and China to follow during the former's routine rotation and resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal. 

Its full text has not been released.

Villanueva said the Philippine government has the right to keep the document confidential. Where the country is working to protect its personnel, "the Philippine Government must exercise maximum discipline and focus, with minimum diversion and interference," it said.

'No valid overlapping claims'

Maritime law scholars, including Jeffrey Ordaniel of the Manila Dialogue on the South China Sea, have argued that any bilateral arrangement with China over the shoal risks treating Ayungin as disputed territory even though the 2016 arbitral award ruled that China has no valid maritime entitlements there. 

Ordaniel warned in a March 1 commentary that the deal "sidelines" the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the arbitral award and could set a precedent for similar arrangements elsewhere in the West Philippine Sea. 

There are also arguments that the deal functions as a provisional arrangement under UNCLOS, a legal mechanism meant for areas where maritime boundaries are unresolved and claims overlap.

The DFA rejected this outright.

“The 2016 South China Sea arbitral ruling settled the maritime entitlements of the Philippines and China under UNCLOS,” the DFA spokesperson said, adding that there are no valid overlapping claims in the West Philippine Sea and that China’s so-called nine-dash line has no legal basis.

The provisional understanding "takes full note" of that ruling and "was drafted specifically to be without prejudice to the Philippines' national position," Villanueva added.

To equate the deal with a UNCLOS provisional arrangement, the DFA said, shows "either a fundamentally unfounded interpretation of international law, or a malicious attempt to deliberately misconstrue the Philippine position and government efforts."

The agreement "does not require the Philippines to seek permission to undertake RORE missions, nor does it allow boarding and inspection of Philippine vessels, and, above all, it does not concede the Philippines’ sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction," Villanueva said.

Deal to de-escalate

The deal was reached in 2024 in an effort to de-escalate tensions following one of the most violent incidents to take place in the waters of Ayungin Shoal in years. 

In June 2024, an aggressive confrontation between Chinese and Philippine vessels at Ayungin Shoal saw China Coast Guard personnel armed with bladed weapons injure a Filipino sailor and seize Philippine military equipment.

The DFA said the Philippines would continue implementing the deal. "We expect China to do the same," it said.