Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin’s Regular Press Conference

CCTV: It’s reported that in a statement released on April 20, Philippine’s National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said this administration is not aware of any secret or gentleman agreement with China and if there was such done under a previous administration, the same has been rescinded. He added that the discourse has been used to sow divisions in the Philippines and weaken its resolve in asserting the sovereignty in the South China Sea. He called on all Filipinos to stand their ground and push back against these corrosive narratives. What’s China’s comment?

Wang Wenbin: China and the Philippines reached common understandings on properly handling the situation at Ren’ai Jiao. These common understandings were reached not only during the Philippines’ previous administration but also its current administration. This is the plain fact, as evidenced by the Philippines’ media reports, statements of officials in the previous administration and how China and the Philippines handled the Ren’ai Jiao issue. The Philippines keeps denying these common understandings. What exactly is their issue? Is there something they are trying to hide?

It is in both China and the Philippines’ interest to keep the situation at Ren’ai Jiao stable, which is achievable if both sides observe those common understandings. Breach of commitments and provocations will only escalate the situation and eventually backfire on the Philippines itself. We hope the Philippines will face that squarely and decide sensibly what its action should be.