MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has drawn a firm line over the BRP Sierra Madre, declaring that the Philippines will not abandon the grounded warship or its military outpost at Ayungin Shoal despite renewed claims from China.
The AFP’s statement came Saturday, August 22, after the Chinese Embassy in Manila issued its latest position concerning the Philippine military presence at the disputed shoal. The military rejected what it described as claims that could undermine the Philippines’ established position regarding the BRP Sierra Madre.
The message from the Philippine military is clear: the BRP Sierra Madre remains a Philippine military outpost, and Manila intends to maintain its presence there.
The development adds another layer to an already tense confrontation between Manila and Beijing in the West Philippine Sea, where Chinese and Philippine vessels have repeatedly faced off over patrols, resupply operations and access to Philippine-held features.
Why the BRP Sierra Madre matters
The BRP Sierra Madre is a former World War II-era landing ship that the Philippine Navy deliberately grounded at Ayungin Shoal in 1999. It has since served as a permanent Philippine military outpost, with Filipino personnel stationed aboard the aging vessel.
Because of its location, the ship has become one of the most important symbols of Manila’s presence in the West Philippine Sea.
The Philippines regularly conducts rotation and resupply missions to keep the personnel stationed aboard the vessel supplied with food, water, fuel and other necessities.
Those missions have repeatedly become flashpoints with China.
In previous confrontations, Chinese Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels have been accused by Manila of blocking, shadowing, ramming or using water cannons against Philippine vessels attempting to reach the outpost. Reuters has documented several of these confrontations, including the 2023 water-cannon incident and subsequent Philippine resupply missions.
Tensions escalated again this year
The latest AFP position comes after another serious confrontation near Ayungin Shoal in July 2026.
According to Philippine authorities, a China Coast Guard rigid-hull inflatable boat carrying eight personnel approached the BRP Sierra Madre at close range. Philippine personnel attempted to drive the Chinese boat away, after which the AFP said Chinese personnel struck Filipino Navy personnel with wooden batons, injuring at least one serviceman and damaging a Philippine rubber boat.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. subsequently summoned the Chinese ambassador over the incident and reiterated that the Philippines would defend its sovereign rights while continuing to pursue diplomacy.
During the change-of-command ceremony for the AFP’s new chief, Lt. Gen. Antonio Nafarrete, Marcos also ordered the military to safeguard the Filipino people and “defend every inch” of Philippine territory and waters.
Nafarrete, who replaced Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., likewise placed territorial defense among the AFP’s central priorities.
Beijing and Manila remain sharply divided
China has consistently rejected the Philippines’ position regarding the disputed waters and maintains expansive claims over much of the South China Sea.
Beijing has also repeatedly called for the removal of the BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal.
Manila, however, has maintained that its presence and regular resupply missions are legitimate.
The dispute is particularly significant because the 2016 South China Sea arbitral ruling found that there was no legal basis for China’s claim to historic rights to resources within areas covered by its so-called nine-dash line and addressed the legal status of features including Second Thomas Shoal.
China has rejected the arbitration ruling and continues to maintain its broader claims.
The Philippines continues to invoke the ruling, along with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), in defending its maritime position.
The standoff is about more than an aging warship
Although the BRP Sierra Madre is visibly deteriorating, its strategic importance goes far beyond the condition of the vessel.
The ship represents a physical Philippine military presence at Ayungin Shoal.
For Manila, abandoning the outpost could have consequences far beyond removing an old naval vessel. Maintaining the outpost allows the Philippines to continue demonstrating its presence and enforcing its position in an area that it considers part of its maritime entitlements.
That is why the Philippine military has repeatedly rejected suggestions that the outpost will simply be abandoned.
The AFP has previously made the same position explicit. In 2025, then-AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said Philippine forces would continue protecting the country’s occupied features in the West Philippine Sea, including the BRP Sierra Madre.
What happens next could be more important
The latest exchange comes at a time when Manila and Beijing are trying to manage increasingly frequent encounters at sea while avoiding a confrontation that could spiral into a larger crisis.
The Philippines has continued strengthening maritime cooperation with allies, while China has maintained its coast guard and other maritime forces around contested areas.
The United States has also repeatedly affirmed that its defense commitments to the Philippines apply to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the South China Sea, while Washington and Manila continue conducting military cooperation and maritime activities.
For now, the AFP’s message leaves little room for ambiguity:
The BRP Sierra Madre is staying.
And as long as Filipino troops remain aboard the aging ship at Ayungin Shoal, the waters surrounding it will remain one of the most closely watched flashpoints in the West Philippine Sea.
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