Ministry of National Defense: Denying Facts with False Narratives will Do the Philippine Side More Harm than Good

Question: Philippine Defense Secretary recently said his department was "not aware of, nor is it a party to, any internal agreement with China". The Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs said "no Cabinet-level official in the Marcos administration has agreed to any Chinese proposal pertaining to" Ren'ai Jiao. What's your comment on this?

Zhang Xiaogang: Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson recently has outlined multiple times the basic facts regarding what happened between China and the Philippines in terms of managing the situation at Ren'ai Jiao. The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines released details about the relevant communication between the two sides. The facts are clear and backed by hard evidence that cannot be denied. It needs to be pointed out that the Chinese side reached with the Philippine side the "gentlemen's agreement", internal understandings and the "new model" out of humanitarian considerations. Such agreements help to manage differences, prevent conflicts and build trust between the two sides, so as to preserve peace and stability in relevant waters. The Philippine side keeps denying the hard facts, deceiving its people and misleading the international community. Where is its credibility? What is it up to? A person without credibility can not establish himself in society, and a country without credibility can not grow strong. The Chinese side urges the Philippine side to adhere to the basic norms governing international relations, stop its false narratives and reckless provocations. Otherwise all its behaviors will only backfire on itself and do itself more harm than good.