AYUNGIN MISSION. The MV Lapu-Lapu approaches the BRP Sierra Madre during a September 26 RORE mission to Ayungin Shoal.
The DFA pushes back after China’s envoy claims the Philippines agreed not to construct on the BRP Sierra Madre in a 2024 temporary deal
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Thursday, July 23, that a temporary deal with China in 2024 does not mean Filipinos seek permission for resupply missions, allow the boarding or inspections of Philippine ships, “concede the Philippines’ sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction” in Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.
“As stated from the outset, 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 (RORE) missions for daily necessities to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal,” said the DFA in a statement.
The provisional understanding, sometimes called a provisional agreement, was made between the two countries in 2024 a month after China Coast Guard (CCG) personnel harassed Filipino soldiers who were already moored by the BRP Sierra Madre, a warship that serves as a makeshift outpost in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. That 2024 incident resulted in one soldier losing his thumb and Philippine Navy equipment destroyed as the CCG intervened in a RORE mission to the Sierra Madre.
