diff -r e57b27703e8b -r b49b0d72c071 src/share/classes/com/sun/tools/javac/parser/JavacParser.java
--- a/src/share/classes/com/sun/tools/javac/parser/JavacParser.java	Tue Jul 13 19:20:48 2010 -0700
+++ b/src/share/classes/com/sun/tools/javac/parser/JavacParser.java	Thu Jul 15 16:31:02 2010 +0100
@@ -1151,8 +1151,12 @@
                     t = toP(F.at(pos).Select(t, ident()));
                     break;
                 case ELLIPSIS:
-                    assert this.permitTypeAnnotationsPushBack;
-                    typeAnnotationsPushedBack = annos;
+                    if (this.permitTypeAnnotationsPushBack) {
+                        this.typeAnnotationsPushedBack = annos;
+                    } else if (annos.nonEmpty()) {
+                        // Don't return here -- error recovery attempt
+                        illegal(annos.head.pos);
+                    }
                     break loop;
                 default:
                     break loop;