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🇵🇭 Philippines /Conflict & Security

DFA: Ayungin arrangement with China is only an ‘information exchange’

From Philippine Daily Inquirer · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro described the provisional arrangement with China on missions to Ayungin Shoal as an information exchange, not a request for permission.
  • Under the arrangement, the Armed Forces’ Western Command determines when missions will take place, while the Foreign Affairs Department informs China and receives information about Chinese vessels in the area.
  • Lazaro said 16 missions have proceeded without incident since 2024, while officials reported 296 diplomatic protests involving China since 2022.

The Philippines is not asking China for permission to resupply troops stationed at Ayungin Shoal, Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro told lawmakers. Manila’s provisional arrangement with Beijing is, she said, simply an exchange of information.

“This is just an information exchange,” Lazaro said during a House appropriations committee hearing on the Foreign Affairs Department’s proposed 2027 budget. “There is no permission that is being asked.”

This is just an information exchange.

· Ma. Theresa LazaroThe Philippine foreign affairs secretary described the provisional arrangement with China on rotation and resupply missions.

Under the arrangement, the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Western Command decides when a rotation and resupply mission will take place. It informs the Foreign Affairs Department, which then notifies China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. China, in turn, provides information about vessels expected to be in the area.

The missions resupply Filipino troops stationed aboard the BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era warship that Manila deliberately grounded at Ayungin Shoal in 1999 to reinforce its territorial claims. Lazaro said the arrangement does not prejudice the Philippines’ position on the West Philippine Sea.

She linked the agreement to a June 2024 confrontation at the shoal in which a Filipino soldier lost a finger after an encounter with Chinese vessels. Since then, she said, at least 16 rotation and resupply missions have taken place without incident.

There is no permission that is being asked.

· Ma. Theresa LazaroLazaro told lawmakers that the arrangement does not give China approval authority over Philippine missions.

The hearing also highlighted the continuing diplomatic tensions. Rogelio Villanueva Jr., executive director of the Foreign Affairs Department’s Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office, said the department had filed 296 diplomatic protests over encounters with China since 2022, including 39 in 2026.

“Results on the ground may take time,” Villanueva said. He added that diplomacy must work alongside security agencies and the National Maritime Council as part of a whole-of-government approach. The department is seeking 35 billion pesos from Congress for next year’s budget.

Results on the ground may take time.

· Rogelio Villanueva Jr.The Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office official discussed the limits and timeframe of diplomatic efforts.
About this summary

Originally published by Philippine Daily Inquirer in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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