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Statement of the DFA Spokesperson on the 10 November 2023 Ayungin Shoal Incident

PASAY CITY 16 November 2023 – I wish to address the statement of Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin regarding the 10 November 2023 resupply mission in Ayungin Shoal.

I wish to make 3 brief points:

1st, the reason presented by China for such challenges and dangerous maneuvers is sovereignty and exercise of lawful enforcement activity over what is allegedly territory.

But the law is clear: Ayungin Shoal is not an island; it is a low-tide elevation that cannot be appropriated or subjected to sovereignty claims. Ayungin Shoal is located 106.3 nautical miles from the Philippine island of Palawan. On the other hand, Ayungin Shoal is 423.30 NM from the Paracels, and 617.39 NM from the Chinese mainland - clearly beyond the 200 NM maximum maritime entitlement for an EEZ under UNCLOS. In accordance with UNCLOS and the final and binding 2016 Award in the South China Sea Arbitration, Ayungin Shoal is "within the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of the Philippines," over which the Philippines has sovereign rights and jurisdiction. China cannot, therefore, lawfully exercise sovereignty over it.

China bases  its claim on the so-called nine-dashed line. As clearly stated by the 2016 Arbitral Award, UNCLOS superseded any "historic rights" or other sovereign rights or jurisdiction, in excess of the limits imposed by UNCLOS. China cannot claim entitlements in areas of the "nine-dashed line", now "ten-dashed line", that exceed UNCLOS limits.

2nd, the resupply mission to and the upkeep of the BRP Sierra Madre are legitimate Philippine Government activities in our EEZ, and in accordance with international law, particularly UNCLOS. It is difficult to imagine how these activities could be deemed threatening to China.

The BRP Sierra Madre is a commissioned Philippine naval vessel permanently stationed in Ayungin Shoal in 1999 to serve as a constant Philippine government presence in response to China's illegal occupation in 1995 of Panganiban Reef, also known as Mischief Reef. This was prior to the signing of the DOC in 2002.

Panganiban Reef is a low-tide elevation that forms part of our continental shelf and is within our EEZ. You may all recall that in 1995, when we protested China's construction of a structure in Mischief Reef, China promised that it was only a "fisherman's shelter" and would remain as such. The reef is now a militarized artificial island. So are Calderon Reef, also known as Cuarteron Reef; Kagitingan Reef, also known as Fiery Cross Reef; Burgos Reefs, also known as Gaven Reefs; McKennan Reef, also known as Hughes Reef; Johnson Reef; and Zamora Reef, also kncwn as Subi Reef. Let us not forget that.

We call on China to remove all these illegal structures, cease reclamations in the South China Sea, and be accountable for the damages caused by these illegal activities.

3rd, the Philippines has not entered into any agreement abandoning its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its EEZ and continental shelf, including in the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal.

We are being asked to give prior notification each time we conduct a resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal. We will not do so. The resupply missions are legitimate activities within our EEZ, in accordance with international law.

The Philippines remains guided by UNCLOS and the Arbitral Award as the twin anchors of our policy and actions in the South China Sea. We reiterate that creating and maintaining a favorable and conducive environment is essential to the peaceful resolution of the South China Sea situation. END