MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said his administration has no idea about a supposed gentleman’s agreement between the administration of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte and China on the West Philippine Sea conflict, but asserted that the thought of it was appalling.

“I am horrified by the idea that we have compromised, through a secret agreement, the territory, the sovereignty, and the sovereign rights of the Filipinos,” Marcos said in an ambush interview on Wednesday, April 10.

“Kung ay ang sinasabi sa agreement na ‘yan na kailangan nating magpermiso sa ibang bansa para gumalaw sa ating sariling teritoryo, mahirap sigurong sundan ang ganyang klaseng agreement (If that agreement says we have to ask permission from other countries in order to navigate our own territory, that kind of agreement would probably be difficult to follow),” he added.

Former presidential spokesman Harry Roque previously said that during the Duterte administration, the Philippines supposedly agreed with China to keep the status quo in the territorial waters. This meant only basic supplies, not building materials, would be deployed to the BRP Sierra Madre, the dilapidated Philippine Navy ship that serves as the country’s military outpost in Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal).

Another Duterte-era official, former chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo, denied that then-president Rodrigo Duterte had entered into a gentleman’s agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said that Beijing had raised this gentleman’s agreement in its proposals to Manila on how to de-escalate tensions in the West Philippine Sea, but the DFA added that those were contrary to the Philippines’ national interests.

Marcos said he will still have to clarify details of the supposed deal with Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian, and added that his administration is having conversations with former officials of the Duterte administration.

“We don’t know if it’s a secret agreement. We don’t know anything about it. There is no documentation, there is no record,” Marcos said. “We were not briefed when I came into office.”

In a statement on Thursday, April 11, the Chinese embassy in Manila said Beijing had been “exploring…the pragmatic way to effectively manage the situation of Ren’ai Jiao without prejudice to either country’s principled position on the dispute” with the current administration and administrations past.

Still seemingly insisting that the agreement on Ayungin Shoal stood, the Chinese embassy said “because the understandings and agreements were no longer adhered to, the situation around [Second Thomas or Ayungin Shoal] became difficult and incidents happened once and again.”

Tensions in the West Philippine Sea have escalated since Marcos rose to the presidency, with numerous harassment tactics by China against Philippine vessels.

Marcos’ remarks on Wednesday came just before his flight to Washington DC, where he is set to participate in a landmark trilateral summit with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister. That meeting is set to discuss the Beijing problem in the South China Sea. – Rappler.com