Carpio wants resupply mission deal to Ayungin Shoal to ‘end soon’

Metro Manila, Philippines - The Philippines should “end soon” the provisional arrangement with China on rotation and resupply missions to the Ayungin Shoal, retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said Wednesday, Jan. 29, worrying it might be expanded over the West Philippine Sea.

“This is unique and this should be temporary and we should end it as soon as we can,” Carpio told a forum in Quezon City. “I can see what China will do now: Let us expand this agreement to the entire West Philippine Sea because we have agreed to it.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced the deal in July last year as Manila and Beijing “continue to recognize the need to de-escalate the situation in the South China Sea and manage differences through dialogue and consultation.”

The DFA previously explained that the two countries also agreed that the deal “will not prejudice each other’s positions in the South China Sea.”

The Philippine Coast Guard’s Commodore Jay Tarriela said the country should not come up with another “understanding” with the East Asian giant that could be applied to other sections of the West Philippine Sea.

“I don't think that it is a win for the Philippine government if we're going to come up with another agreement because we just want to de-escalate the tension,” said Tarriela, the PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea. “In the first place, the escalation, the provocative actions that are happening in the West Philippine Sea is only done by the Chinese side.”

Carpio agreed with Tarriela’s comment but said he was “worried” that the existing provisional agreement “will be taken by China to mean that they have some sort of control over our RORE (rotation and resupply mission).”

“We have to be very careful because China has been doing this to Vietnam. The moment you give them a little leeway, they will demand more,” the retired magistrate claimed.

Carpio was an observer in the 2016 arbitral case that invalidated China’s sweeping claims over the South China Sea.

“Whatever we do on the ground is the one that will prevail even if you put there that without prejudice to Philippine sovereign rights, but if you actually do it in practice, you ask permission from them, then that will prevail,” he said.

Jonathan Malaya, National Security Council assistant director general, clarified that the Philippines does not ask permission from China to conduct resupply missions, and that there is no ship inspection and supervision.

“We will never surrender our sovereign rights and our sovereignty because our position in Ayungin Shoal is very clear and that the BRP Sierra Madre is there as the flag bearer and as a symbol of our sovereignty in that part of the West Philippine Sea,” Malaya said.

The Philippines intentionally ran aground BRP Sierra Madre on the Ayungin Shoal, internationally called the Second Thomas Shoal, to stake Manila’s territorial claim in the contested waterway. Filipino sailors are deployed to the vessel.

Tensions previously surrounded resupply and rotation missions of Philippine forces to the dilapidated tank amid increasing Chinese aggressions in the West Philippine Sea.

There have been five rotation and reprovisioning missions to the shoal “with no untoward incidents” since the start of the provisional agreement.