China says 'common understanding' on Ayungin reached with Marcos admin

China on Monday said a "common understanding" on the handling of the Ayungin Shoal (Ren’ai Jiao) has been reached not just with the Duterte administration, but with the current Marcos administration.

"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," China's foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin's said in a press conference.

"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?" he added.

The Chinese official said it is in the interest of  the two countries to keep the situation in Ayungin 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," Wang added

Wang was asked to comment on an earlier statement of National Security Adviser Eduardo Año who had said that the administration was not aware of any gentleman's agreement with China.

In an earlier report, Año also said there was no document to prove the pact.

GMA News Online sought the comment of the Palace on the Chinese official's latest statement and will post it as soon as available.

Senator Risa Hontiveros earlier filed a resolution to look into the reported deal.

"The 'gentleman's agreement' would explain the relentless harassment via water cannons of our resupply missions by Chinese forces," Hontiveros wrote in the resolution. —LDF, GMA Integrated News