The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has forcefully rejected a recent statement from the Chinese Embassy in Manila attempting to alter history regarding the presence of the BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal, warning against Beijing’s “track record of deceptive narratives.”
In a sharply worded statement, the military directly addressed the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) references to “promises” and “demands,” pointing to historical precedents of Chinese overreach in the West Philippine Sea.
The AFP recalled the 1995 occupation of Panganiban Reef (Mischief Reef), a feature located well within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Foreign ministry leadership in Beijing had originally assured Manila and the international community that the small, octagonal wooden structures on stilts were merely “shelters for local fishermen” with no military intent. Today, those same structures have been transformed into a fortified, 550-hectare military airbase equipped with a 3,000-meter runway, missile emplacements, radar domes, and naval berths.
“Mischief Reef stands as a permanent, concrete monument to their deceptive strategy in the West Philippine Sea,” the AFP stated.
In contrast to Beijing’s illegal island-building and militarization of low-tide elevations inside the Philippine EEZ, the military emphasized that the stationing of the BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal is a “lawful, permanent sovereign deployment on a feature over which we exercise sovereign rights and jurisdiction.”
This position was solidified by the landmark 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling, which determined that Ayungin Shoal is a low-tide elevation within the Philippine EEZ and that Beijing’s expansive maritime claims are completely devoid of any legal basis.
The AFP firmly denied that any binding commitment was ever made to remove the grounded navy ship from the shoal.
Reaffirming its mandate to protect the country’s national sovereignty and uphold international law, the military pledged to maintain its garrison on the outpost.
“We will never abandon BRP Sierra Madre,” the AFP declared.