Philippine senators and the Chinese embassy are still locked in a verbal spat as of Thursday, after Beijing’s envoy spokesperson released a sharp rebuke in response to Senate President Tito Sotto’s statements blasting China for attempting to “silence” the upper chamber. 

“Mr. Senate President, you say we are rude, but take a look at the track record. Some senator[s] even said to the Chinese diplomats in the Senate plenary session ‘Get the f*ck out!’ Please tell me who is rude,” the Chinese Embassy in Manila spokesperson Ji Lingpeng said. 

“You also say we are disrespectful. Yet some senators labelled China as bully, called the Chinese Embassy a ‘bad guest’ or a ‘troll farm’. Is that what you call respect?” he added. 

Sotto, in response, said he would not engage with Ji this time, no matter how much the latter tries to provoke him.

“When someone triggers you to react, and you do not, it’s annoying! I prefer to be annoying!” the Senate leader told reporters in a Viber message.

Senators and the embassy have been trading barbs since January, with the tension further escalated after the Senate adopted on Monday a resolution condemning China for its inflammatory remarks against Philippine officials critical of Beijing in defense of Manila’s maritime rights in the West Philippine Sea.

The adoption, however, was met with sharp criticism from the embassy, which called it “anti-China” and a mere “political stunt” aimed at “stirring up hatred and confrontation,” thereby sabotaging efforts to improve China–Philippines’ longstanding diplomatic relations.

Ji also called senators supportive of the resolution “hypocrites” and “ignorant” of how diplomacy works. 

Sotto was quick to fire back at Ji, denouncing his scathing remarks as a veiled attempt to “silence” the Senate. 

He also called Ji hypocritical for demanding respect while continuing to disrespect members of the Senate. 

Ji, on the contrary, belied Sotto’s claims of the embassy silencing the Senate. In fact, he accused the chamber of being the one guilty of the offense by proposing that the Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines, Jing Quan, be declared persona non grata, a move floated by Sotto himself.

“The reality is that certain senators have been repeatedly threatening and intimidating foreign embassy, even proposing to declare Chinese diplomats ‘persona non grata’. So who is trying to silence the other side?” Ji asserted.

“Those who think they can pressure China through statements, resolutions, or endless complaints underestimate us. That approach simply does not work,” he continued.

Nonetheless, he emphasized that the embassy remains open to constructive dialogue to settle the dispute, though he warned that it will also remain resolute in dismissing “baseless attacks and smears” against China.

“If falsehoods are spread, if China is maliciously vilified, if hatred is incited, we will not stay silent. We will respond firmly and without hesitation,” he stressed.

“Those who seek to incite hatred and sabotage China–Philippines relations will not succeed, because we’re watching closely, and will debunk every lie and scheme whenever they arise,” Ji concluded.

The sharp exchanges between the two camps followed the embassy’s filing of two diplomatic protests, compelling the Philippines to stop “turning a blind eye” and “tolerating” the Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the WPS, Jay Tarriela, from orchestrating a “smear campaign” against Chinese President Xi Jinping. 

Tarriela drew the ire of the Chinese embassy after he featured a caricature of Xi with the title “Why China remains to be bully?” during a forum at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde earlier in January, photos of which were uploaded to his Facebook.

The embassy argued that although Tarriela’s “malicious” social media posts against Chinese leaders have been a recurring issue, the particular post constituted a “blatant political provocation” that had “crossed the red line.”

Tarriela, in response, countered that China’s protests were a veiled effort to “deflect” the issue from their continuing “aggressive and illegal actions” in the WPS. 

Moreover, the PCG official accused the Chinese embassy of violating Article 41(1) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties—which the Philippines and China are state parties—for seeking Manila’s intervention to stop him from airing his “personal and professional” views in the contested waters of the WPS. 

The Philippines and China have long been embroiled in a maritime dispute over the South China Sea, which overlaps with the WPS. China has persistently asserted jurisdiction over WPS, notwithstanding a 2016 arbitral ruling, which deemed Beijing’s expansive claims in the entire SCS as invalid and baseless.