Manila urged not to renege on deals

Beijing urged Manila on Monday to honor its commitment on the agreements with China regarding the Ren'ai Reef issue, stop provocations and return to the right way of handling differences through dialogue and consultation.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian made the remarks after several senior Philippine officials have denied that there were any such agreements.

China stays committed to managing maritime disputes including Ren'ai Reef with the Philippines through negotiation and communication, the spokesman said.

According to Lin, at the end of 2021, through close communication and coordination, China and the previous Philippine administration struck a "gentlemen's agreement" on Ren'ai Reef, which the current Philippine administration still followed until February 2023.

In September, Beijing invited the special representative of the Philippine president to negotiate in China and the two sides reached an internal understanding on the Ren'ai Reef issue, which was accepted by the leadership of the Philippines and then abandoned after it delivered supplies to the illegally grounded vessel in the reef.

At the beginning of this year, a "new model" on de-escalating tensions in Ren'ai Reef was reached between China and the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command, Lin said.

The "new model" was approved by key figures of the whole chain of command, including the country's national security adviser and the secretary of national defense, he said, adding that the model was abandoned by Manila after a resupply practice on Feb 2.

The "gentlemen's agreement", internal understanding and the "new model" have all reflected the efforts and sincerity of China, Lin said.

The remarks made by the Philippines cannot deny the above arrangements, which have been aimed at dealing with differences, avoiding conflicts and building mutual trust in safeguarding the peace and stability of Ren'ai Reef, he stressed.

China urges the Philippines to abide by the norms governing international relations and respect the facts, Lin said.

Also on Monday, Lin said that if the Philippines truly hopes to ease tension in the South China Sea, it should immediately stop intruding into the adjacent waters of China's Nansha Islands and Huangyan Island, stop delivering construction materials to and building permanent facilities at the illegally grounded vessel in Ren'ai Reef.

Manila should also stop forming cliques to flex its muscles or spreading disinformation to mislead the international community, he said.