On July 21, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying that it had reached an understanding with China on the replenishment and rotation of the Sierra Madre "beached" by the Philippines at Ren'ai Jiao, but this would not affect the claims of both sides to sovereignty over the sea area and islands and reefs. It seems that the Philippines hopes to rely on it for a while longer by admitting cowardice.
According to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, diplomats from China and the Philippines met in Manila on the 21st and exchanged diplomatic notes in order to reach an arrangement acceptable to both sides without conceding to either side's territorial claims. Two Philippine officials with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed the existence of the agreement on condition of anonymity. The Philippine government then issued a brief statement announcing the signing of the agreement, but did not provide specific details.
"The two sides continue to recognize the need to de-escalate the situation in the South China Sea, manage differences through dialogue and consultation, and agree that the agreement will not undermine each other's positions in the South China Sea," the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said after announcing the signing of the agreement. In response to reporters' questions, the spokesperson emphasized three points: in short, one is to emphasize China's sovereignty over the Nansha Islands, including Ren'ai Jiao, and its adjacent waters, and China still asks the Philippine side to tow away the ship and restore the original status of Ren'ai Jiao as uninhabited and without facilities; Second, China is willing to proceed from humanitarianism and allow the Philippine side to carry out the transportation and replenishment after prior notification to the Chinese side and on-site verification, and the Chinese side will monitor the whole process. Third, if the Philippine side transports a large amount of building materials to the ship and tries to build fixed facilities and permanent outposts, the Chinese side will never accept it and will resolutely block it in accordance with laws and regulations.
Based on the above-mentioned three principled positions, the Chinese side agreed to reach a temporary arrangement on the transportation and replenishment of humanitarian supplies. Although neither side has announced the specific details of this agreement, judging from the statements of the diplomatic departments of both sides, it can be seen that Marcos Jr. may have accepted the following realities: First, it agreed to China's request to be notified in advance and not to send building materials on the ship, but this detail cannot be announced, and the failure to announce this detail is that China has taken care of the Philippine side, because once it is announced, it may cause turmoil in the Marcos Jr. government, and the people will also lose trust in Marcos Jr., because Marcos Jr.'s tone towards China has always been tough. At least on the surface, he can't let the outside world see that he is cowardly.
The second is that the soldiers on the broken ship of the "Sierra Madre" are indeed difficult to support, and now it has been more than a month since the supply was interrupted, and the survival of the personnel has encountered great difficulties, and the personnel cannot survive, and all stubborn resistance is in vain, so Marcos Jr. adjusted his strategy and first let the people on the broken ship be able to support it. However, it seems that the broken ship is not facing a grim situation of immediate disintegration, otherwise the Philippine side may not agree to China's demand that no building materials be transported to the ship.
Whether it is the conflict on June 17 or the previous conflict, the United States has not made any substantive military support except for verbal statements and intelligence support, Marcos Jr. is actually very disappointed in his heart, with the Philippines alone can not compete with the Chinese side at all, accepting the reality can reduce the loss of face, not losing the inside, relatively speaking, it is a good choice for Marcos Jr.
Of course, we should also note that the Philippine side has not made any concessions on his "sovereignty" claim, and this agreement is only temporary and transitory, and there is no guarantee that the Philippine side will not backtrack itself and go back on its word in the future, and the Philippine side may recur at any time. However, this agreement can at least ease the current tension and avoid an immediate escalation of the conflict, and in general, it is also in line with China's proposition of easing contradictions, avoiding conflicts, and resolving contradictions through dialogue, communication and consultation, and can also hinder the United States to a certain extent from deliberately stirring up right and wrong and intensifying contradictions in the future, and easing the general trend of tension between China and the Philippines is beneficial to both China and the Philippines.
If the Philippines loses its trust again, it will be a big deal to return to the original situation, but it is still impossible for the Philippines to grab any illegal benefits.