President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on Wednesday denied that the country had any agreement with China to remove the grounded BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal, which has been a flashpoint with Beijing in the West Philippine Sea.

"I’m not aware of any such arrangement or agreement that the Philippines will remove from its own territory its ship," said Marcos in a video statement posted by the Presidential Communications Office. 

"And let me go further, if there does exist such an agreement, I rescind that agreement now," he added.

Meanwhile, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said he is in favor of refurbishing the BRP Sierra Madre, adding that the Senate will even allocate funding for such endeavor. 

"I agree that the BRP Sierra Madre should be refurbished... If funding is requested from us in the Senate, then the Senate will gladly comply and fund it for our brave men and women of the Marines and Navy," Zubiri said. 

"They deserve our unconditional support as they sacrifice themselves for us," he added.

A spokesperson for China's foreign ministry on Tuesday said the Philippines supposedly "made clear promises to tow away the warship illegally 'stranded' on the reef."

Beijing renewed its call for the aging ship's removal days after Manila accused the China Coast Guard of firing water cannon against Philippine boats on a resupply mission to marines stationed on the BRP Sierra Madre.

The National Security Council earlier in the day dared Beijing to reveal the Filipino official or any individual who supposedly made the promise to remove the BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin.

Full story here: https://tinylinkurl.com/No-agreement-with-China-to-remove-ship-from-Ayungin