JV challenges China critics

Senator JV Ejercito on Tuesday hit back at critics for condemning his call to declare Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan persona non grata, challenging them to speak up when Filipino troops and fishermen suffer in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Ejercito said he was being bombarded with criticism on social media despite raising concerns over Jing’s remarks that Beijing could “easily win” a conflict with Manila through the “use of force.”

“To those who are bashing us, where were you when one of our Navy personnel had a finger cut off? Where were you when our personnel was struck on the head? As for our fishermen who are being deprived of their livelihood every single day, did you fight for them?” he said in a chance interview.

His remarks came after the Chinese Embassy in Manila highlighted Ejercito’s previous endorsement of a Chinese tire brand, while criticizing his call for Jing’s expulsion as “bluffing” and merely “for show and for headlines.”

Ejercito stressed that his position was not anti-China or against Chinese products but directed at the ambassador’s remarks, which he described as undiplomatic and threatening.

“As a diplomat, he should exercise diplomacy and help improve Philippines-China relations, not make impulsive statements that further strain ties,” he said.

Calls for Jing to be declared persona non grata gained momentum after Senator Risa Hontiveros filed Senate Resolution 746 urging President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to seek the envoy’s recall. Senator Erwin Tulfo also filed a resolution calling on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to take diplomatic action.

The DFA summoned Jing on Monday to protest his “provocative and unacceptable” 15 October statement, warning that diplomatic sanctions remained an option.

Hontiveros cited the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, arguing that the Philippines could declare Jing persona non grata without explaining its decision.

Malacañang, however, rejected the proposal, saying Marcos preferred to resolve tensions with Beijing through diplomacy.

The Chinese Embassy warned that officials pushing for Jing’s expulsion could face a ban on entering China. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino have been barred from entering mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

Beijing claims nearly the entire South China Sea, including areas within the WPS, despite a 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated its expansive maritime claims.