DFA: No Cabinet exec OK'd China proposal

As Beijing continues to cite Philippine officials who supposedly agreed or were privy to its secret deal with Manila on Ayungin Shoal, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) made it clear yesterday that no Cabinet-level official had approved any Chinese proposal.

- PIA LEE-BRAGO

In a statement, the DFA emphasized that only the Philippine president can approve or authorize agreements entered into by the government with other parties on matters pertaining to the West Philippine Sea.

“In this respect, the DFA can confirm that no Cabinetlevel official of the Marcos administration has agreed to any Chinese proposal pertaining to the Ayungin Shoal,” the DFA said.

“As far as the Philippine government is concerned, no such document, record or deal exists, as purported by the Chinese embassy,” it added.

The Chinese embassy in Manila claimed that a gentleman’s agreement on the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal was reached during the Duterte administration.

The embassy also claimed that a “new model” for managing the Ayungin issue was agreed upon early this year between the Chinese and the Western Command (WesCom) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

The embassy even claimed that Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. and National Security Adviser Eduardo Año were aware of the “new model.” The two officials have belied the allegations.

The DFA said it stands firm that the Philippines has not entered into any agreement abandoning its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

Philippine Navy (PN) spokesman for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad called the embassy’s “new model” pronouncement part of its “zombie stories, long dead but revived from the grave.”