Marcos: No deal on Ayungin If pact with China exists, PBBM says ‘I rescind that agreement now’

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Charles Dantes

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday insisted the Philippines had no agreement with China to remove the BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal, contrary to Beijing’s claim, and said if such a deal existed, he would rescind it immediately.

“I’m not aware of any such arrangement or agreement that the Philippines will remove from its own territory its ship, in this case, the BRP Sierra Madre from the Ayungin Shoal,” President Marcos said, using the Filipino name for the Second Thomas Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

LONE GUARDIAN. This file photo taken on April 23, 2023 shows the grounded Philippine navy ship BRP Sierra Madre, where marines are stationed to assert Manila's territorial claims at Ayungin Shoal in the Spratly Islands. A crumbling World War II-vintage ship stranded on a submerged reef, the Sierra Madre has long been a flashpoint between Manila and Beijing in their territorial dispute over the waters. AFP