‘No untoward incidents’ as PH rotates troops, brings supplies to Ayungin Shoal 

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday, January 24, flexed the role of “effective diplomacy” in managing tensions in the West Philippine Sea, as the Philippines announced that military and coast guard personnel completed a successful troop rotation and resupply mission in Ayungin Shoal, once a flashpoint for tensions between Manila and Beijing.

“No untoward incidents” were reported during the Friday mission.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), in a separate statement, said its personnel, in coordination with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) were able to bring a new batch of soldiers, as well as supplies to the BRP Sierra Madre, a rusting warship that serves as a Philippine outpost in those waters since 1999.

While Ayungin Shoal is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), Beijing insists that it’s part of their territory, which they define using the so-called 10-dash line.

The January 2025 resupply is the fifth since the Philippines and China reached a “provisional understanding” meant to avoid confrontations between the two countries and to lower tensions. The agreement was made in July 2024, a month after the most violent incident in Ayungin Shoal yet — when personnel of the China Coast Guard (CCG) brandished firearms, boarded the ships, and destroyed the equipment of elite soldiers who were already moored beside the BRP Sierra Madre.

Before the agreement, news of dangerous manuevers, collissions, and China’s use of water cannons against Philippine Navy-contracted ships and the PCG regularly made headlines in the Philippines and overseas, as Manila made it a policy to report, almost in real-time, China’s actions in the West Philippine Sea.

Details of the agreement have not been made public by either side, although Manila and Beijing have bickered over its supposed fine print.

In a statement, DFA spokesperson Teresita Daza said the January 2025 mission “demonstrates that effective diplomacy plays a leading role in West Philippine Sea issues and creates pathways to innovative approaches that help manage the situation, without compromising the Philippine national interest.”

“The 10th Philippines-China Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) held in Xiamen this month saw the Philippines and China acknowledge the understanding’s positive outcomes and agreed to continue its implementation to sustain the de-escalation of tensions,” said Daza.

“The Philippines views the latest RORE mission and the continued adherence to the understanding on the principles and approaches to such missions as substantial demonstrations of diplomatic and pragmatic cooperation in dealing with issues in the South China Sea, and the country’s commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes through dialogue and diplomacy, consistent with the guidance of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr,” she added.

In Xiamen, the Philippines and China also discussed possible areas of cooperation, including the possibility of reviving a platform for cooperation between the PCG and CCG.

The Philippines, under Marcos, has become more aggressive in trying to assert its sovereign rights and sovereignty claims in the West Philippine Sea, an area in the South China Sea that includes its EEZ. A 2016 Arbitral Award affirmed the limits and extent of the Philippines’ EEZ based on international law, but Beijing has repeatedly rejected this ruling.

In response, Manila has deepened its political and security relationship with treaty-ally the United States, and traditional parters like Japan and Australia. It has also forged deeper ties with countries like Vietnam, South Korea, New Zealand, Canada, and France, among others. – Rappler.com