April 12 ------ China attributed the Philippines’ supposed non-adherence to deals on the South China Sea to the rising tension in the waters as President Marcos already questioned the existence of a so-called “gentleman’s agreement."
The Chinese Embassy in Manila Thursday, April 11, did not directly comment on Marcos’ outright rejection of the validity of the supposed agreement between former president Duterte and the Chinese Communist Party not to send construction materials to the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in the Ayungin Shoal. But the embassy said that China “has been exploring, with previous administrations and the current government of the Philippines, the pragmatic way to effectively manage” the sea row, and that the “understandings and agreements reached by the two sides” maintained the overall “peace and stability” in the past years. “And also because the understandings and agreements were no longer adhered to, the situation around Ren’ai Jiao became difficult and incidents happened once and again,” the embassy said.
Prior to his departure for Washington, President Marcos said such a "gentleman agreement" does not officially exist as "there is no documentation," as well as "there is no record" of it. Although the government already rescinded any agreement regarding the West Philippine Sea, the embassy still urged the Philippines “to value and honor their commitments. "It also called on Manila to abide “by the consensus, and return as soon as possible to the right track of properly managing the situation through dialogue and consultation.”
Source: mb.com.ph
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