China has accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of “exploiting” the issue of the West Philippine Sea (WPS) to take advantage of the upcoming May midterm elections.

In his Tuesday regular press briefing, China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun also defended his country’s “hostile” activities towards Philippine vessels in the WPS.

“Let me respond by adapting his sentence: none of the Chinese people would refrain from a lawful and legitimate response, doing nothing when China is hit by infringement and provocation from the Philippines,” Guo said.

He continued: “China opposes exploiting the South China Sea issue for political manipulation.”

On Tuesday, Marcos took an apparent swipe at the senatorial candidates of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP Laban), which is currently chaired by former President Rodrigo Duterte.