China has publicized for the first time what it claims is an unwritten 2016 agreement with the Philippines over access to South China Sea islands.
FILE - Philippine resupply vessel Unaizah May 4, left, is hit by two Chinese coast guard water canons as they tried to enter the Second Thomas Shoal, locally known as Ayungin Shoal, in the disputed South China Sea on March 5, 2024. For the first time, China has publicized what it claims is an unwritten 2016 agreement with the Philippines over access to South China Sea islands.
“This is the basic reason for the ceaseless disputes at sea between China and the Philippines over the past year and more,” said the statement posted to the embassy’s website Thursday, referring to the actions of the Philippines.Jeremiah Manele elected prime minister in Solomon Islands, which is likely to keep close China tiesand Duterte have denied forging any agreements that would have supposedly surrendered Philippine sovereignty or sovereign rights to China.
Beijing’s deliberate wording in the statement “is noteworthy in showing that Beijing has no official document to prove its case and thus could only rely mainly on Duterte’s verbal claim,” Koh said. While he took an almost virulently anti-American stance during his 2016 visit to Washington’s chief rival, he has said he also did not enter into any agreement with Beijing that would have compromised Philippine territory. He acknowledged, however, that he and Xi agreed to maintain “the status quo” in the disputed waters to avoid war.
“That’s what I remember. If it were a gentleman’s agreement, it would always have been an agreement to keep the peace in the South China Sea,” Duterte said.
Beijing Philippines Government Aerospace And Defense Industry Rodrigo Duterte Philippines General News Asia Asia Pacific China I South China Sea Politics Ferdinand Marcos Jr. World News Xi Jinping
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