The Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Teresita Daza said Monday that they had summoned Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian after a China Coast Guard vessel collided with an AFP-contracted resupply boat off Ayungin Shoal on 22 October 2023.
However, Huang was out of town and was represented by his Deputy Chief of Mission instead, said Daza.
National Security Council spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said it is not usual for the Philippines to summon the Chinese ambassador as the country has always adhered to a diplomatic approach.
"We don't summon Chinese Ambassador all the time and this is something like a plain message for the Philippines, the DFA just took into consideration the gravity of the urgency of the Situation and decided that it was an event that required summoning the Ambassador," Malaya noted.