AdvertisementSouth China SeaOpinionAsia Opinion

OpinionSophie Wushuang Yi

To reduce South China Sea friction, Beijing and Manila need it in writing

Amid fresh clashes over the rusting BRP Sierra Madre, both sides accuse each other of infringing their 2024 agreement. But what did they actually agree to?

3-MIN READ3-MIN Listen

Sophie Wushuang YiSophie Wushuang Yi holds a PhD in Chinese studies (international relations) from King’s College London, where she specialised in Sino-US relations, military and strategic studies, and South China Sea geopolitics. Published: 9:30am, 1 Aug 2026As the Philippines hosted Southeast Asian foreign ministers in late July, the sea would not stay quiet. On July 20, Chinese and Philippine crews fought beside the BRP Sierra Madre with oars and batons; one Filipino sailor was reportedly injured while each side blamed the other.Days later, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the security forum, Philippine vessels went to the Scarborough Shoal. Manila said Chinese ships used water cannons on Philippine ships, while Beijing said it drove off vessels that had ignored repeated warnings.Rather than focusing on who moved first, the more useful question is the point of contention: the BRP Sierra Madre – a 1944 tank landing ship grounded on the reef in 1999 – is reportedly collapsing. Its state is debated; the severity is not. Chinese analysts claim the hull has large holes and is taking on water.This is what the July 2024 provisional arrangement on the contested shoal could never resolve. In the Chinese account, the trouble began on July 9 when drones filmed Philippine workers rigging cables around the Sierra Madre’s hull. The boat involved in the incident on July 20 was documenting that work when Philippine crews went out to confront it.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro has rejected Beijing’s claims that Manila’s actions represented a breach of the arrangement. “There is no mention of that undertaking in the provisional understanding,” Lazaro said, adding that the deal did not bar construction or repairs on the Sierra Madre. The Department of Foreign Affairs has said the Philippines alone is entitled to build on the shoal and need not seek Chinese permission to sail there.

The terms of the agreement were never published. Manila has asked Beijing to produce the document to support its claims.

AdvertisementSelect VoiceSelect Speed00:0000:001.00x