MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday clarified that the Philippines does not need China’s permission to conduct rotation and resupply missions to Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal.
The department said the 2024 provisional arrangement with Beijing does not recognize any Chinese authority over Philippine waters.
“The Provisional Understanding is a set of principles and approaches observed by both sides in order to avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation in the conduct of the Philippines’ routine rotation and resupply missions for daily necessities to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal,” the DFA said in a statement.
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It added that the understanding “is not a grant of or a request for permission to any foreign government” and “does not recognize any foreign jurisdiction over Philippine waters.”
The DFA issued the clarification after questions were raised about whether the arrangement required Manila to coordinate with or seek approval from China before sending missions to the BRP Sierra Madre, the grounded Philippine Navy vessel stationed at Ayungin Shoal.
Manila and Beijing reached the arrangement in July 2024 after a series of confrontations around Ayungin Shoal.
The DFA also said the arrangement does not allow the boarding or inspection of Philippine vessels and “does not concede the Philippines’ sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction.”
The department reiterated that Ayungin Shoal forms part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a position upheld by the 2016 South China Sea arbitral ruling.
“As a low-tide elevation, Ayungin generates no maritime entitlement of its own and cannot be claimed by any other state,” the DFA said.
It added that Philippine vessels “do not require permission to sail to Ayungin” and that only the Philippines may authorize structures on the shoal.
The low-tide elevation lies about 194 kilometers west of Palawan.
China continues to claim sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, including areas that overlap with the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
Beijing has rejected the 2016 arbitral ruling, which invalidated the legal basis of its sweeping “nine-dash line” claim in the South China Sea, later expanded to a “10-dash line.”
The DFA said the Philippines’ legal position “remains unchanged and non-negotiable” and that rotation and resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre would continue as part of routine government operations. /mr
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