Teodoro rejects China demand to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal

ASM, Philippine Canadian Inquirer
September 17, 2026

Photo courtesy: Philippine News Agency

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. pushed back against China’s renewed demand for the Philippines to remove the BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal, saying Beijing has no authority to dictate Manila’s actions in the area.

Teodoro made the statement Wednesday, September 16, during a press briefing on the sidelines of the ASEAN Ministerial Conference on Disaster Resilience in Pasay City.

“They have no right to say that,” Teodoro said, arguing that such a demand is beyond China’s jurisdiction and has no basis as an intervention under international law.

His remarks followed renewed Chinese assertions concerning the BRP Sierra Madre, a commissioned Philippine naval vessel permanently stationed at Ayungin Shoal.

China maintains that the Philippines had previously promised to remove the vessel and has accused Manila of attempting to repair and reinforce it to maintain a permanent presence at the shoal. Beijing refers to Ayungin Shoal as Ren’ai Jiao and claims the feature as part of China’s Nansha Qundao.

The Philippine government disputes those assertions.

In a September 15 statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs categorically rejected China’s claim that Manila had repeatedly promised to tow away the BRP Sierra Madre. The DFA said there is no agreement between the Philippines and China requiring the vessel’s removal.

Teodoro also said the Philippines should continue exercising the rights granted to it under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and international law rather than give weight to China’s maritime narratives, including its nine-dash line claim.

He further argued that China cannot invoke UNCLOS while acting outside or disregarding provisions of the convention.

The DFA has reaffirmed that Ayungin Shoal is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf under UNCLOS, as upheld by the 2016 South China Sea arbitral award.

The arbitral tribunal determined that Ayungin Shoal, internationally known as Second Thomas Shoal, is a low-tide elevation. The Philippines maintains that the feature therefore cannot generate maritime entitlements of its own and cannot be the subject of a sovereignty claim.

China does not recognize the 2016 arbitral ruling and continues to maintain its territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea.

The latest exchange comes as Ayungin Shoal remains one of the key points of dispute between Manila and Beijing in the West Philippine Sea, particularly over Philippine missions involving personnel and supplies for the BRP Sierra Madre.