The country and China’s “provisional agreement” on resupply missions for troops on a South China Sea shoal, the site of numerous clashes between the two, may be subject to future review, a foreign ministry official said.
The comment comes as tensions have risen in the past week between the two countries in the disputed Scarborough Shoal, where in the latest incident Manila said a Chinese aircraft dropped flares in the path of its military aircraft.
The two countries came to an arrangement last month after multiple standoffs at the Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines in 1999 grounded a navy vessel and maintains a small number of troops on it to prop up its maritime claims.
The arrangement only covers resupply missions in the Second Thomas Shoal and not the other disputed features in the South China Sea.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ma Theresa Lazaro said the understanding with China did not compromise the country’s South China Sea position and the arrangement may be re-evaluated if needed.
“The review will be there. When that will be is subject to further discussion,” Lazaro said.
Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo told lawmakers the Philippines will honour the provisional understanding.
The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Philippines completed its resupply mission unimpeded on July 27 following the deal with China.
However the situation around the South China Sea’s Scarborough Shoal, one of Asia’s most contested sites, remains fraught.
The Scarborough Shoal, a prime fishing patch with a lagoon that provides shelter for vessels during storms, is located inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone but has been occupied by China for more than a decade.
The Philippines has been incensed by what it saw as a dangerous manoeuvre by two Chinese aircraft, which it said dropped flares in the path of its military aircraft while conducting a routine patrol over the contested shoal on Thursday.
China, which also claims sovereignty over the shoal, has disputed that saying it acted in a professional and legal manner. — Reuters
