The so-called “gentleman’s agreement” forged between former president Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese leader Xi Jinping regarding the Ayungin Shoal is illegal and non-binding.
So says retired Supreme Court associate justice Antonio Carpio after the supposed agreement was revealed to the public last week by former Duterte spokesman Harry Roque.
The National Security Council (NSC) agreed with Carpio.
Sen. Imee Marcos, however, said she saw nothing wrong with the agreement to maintain the status quo.
Last March 31, the senator said It was normal for any president to do his part in maintaining the peace and order situation within the country’s maritime territory via verbal agreements.
Under the pact, China and the Philippines reportedly agreed to maintain the status quo where the shoal was concerned. This primarily meant that the derelict World War ll-era warship Sierra Madre would not be repaired.
Late last week, Carpio said Duterte acted beyond his authority and surrendered the Philippines’ rights if it was true that he had entered into a gentleman’s agreement with Xi.
According to Carpio, Duterte “knew that without repairs the BRP Sierra Madre would soon collapse and thus end our presence in Ayungin Shoal.”
“Yet Duterte agreed,” said Carpio, “in a concession to China that the Philippines could only bring food and water to BRP Sierra Madre and would not bring materials” to repair the ship.
Duterte’s concession came after the Philippines had won its claim before an Arbitral Tribunal that the Ayungin Shoal was part of the country’s exclusive economic zone, the retired SC justice pointed out.
Carpio further explained that the agreement “was lopsided in favor of China.”
Under the Arbitral award, Carpio said China “had no right to erect any structure on Ayungin Shoal and had no right to stop the Philippines from erecting any structure on Ayungin Shoal, much less any right to stop the Philippines from repairing the BRP Sierra Madre.”
That gentleman’s agreement “was a disguised surrender of our EEZ rights over Ayungin Shoal, as it gave China veto power over our exclusive right to erect structures on Ayungin Shoal,” said Carpio.
The NSC said the Duterte-Xi pact violates the country’s sovereignty.
NSC spokesman Jonathan Malaya said they were not aware of any gentleman’s agreement between Manila and Beijing as claimed by then presidential spokesman Roque.
Malaya said, “the good former secretary should be the one to explain to the public his statements since such an agreement, if it exists, infringes and violates our sovereignty as a nation.”
Even if such an agreement existed, Malaya said it had no bearing with the Marcos administration.
The president’ sister, Sen. Imee Marcos, however, had a different take on the matter.
She said people were over-reacting to insinuations that what former president Duterte did was tantamount to treason.
Speaking at a radio interview, Marcos said there was need for dialogue “because if you put in danger the life of a Filipino, whether soldier or civilian, then you are an irresponsible official.”
Marcos said she hopes that the government sees the necessity to immediately accelerate its self-reliant posture in order to be able to negotiate against other intruders in the West Philippine Sea, noting that there are other claimants to other parts of the South China Sea. To recall, Carpio was the country’s chief legal counsel when it took China to the International Arbitral Tribunal. The court’s decision in favor of the Philippines is recognized by most countries of the world, with very few exceptions such as China.
