DFA renews warning vs Chinese embassy after unabated sparring with Phl lawmakers

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday renewed its warning to the Chinese Embassy that the Philippines could take diplomatic action as Beijing diplomats continue to publicly spar with lawmakers despite their dialogue earlier this week.

The warning came in response to a flurry of social media posts by the embassy that taunted lawmakers calling for Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan’s expulsion, sharply criticized the embassy’s combative rebuttals, and threatened to blacklist them from entering Beijing.

The DFA called the posts “escalatory and undiplomatic,” arguing that they further erode mutual efforts to improve and stabilize Manila-Beijing bilateral relations amid their already tense dispute in the West Philippine Sea.

“The recent public statements of the embassy do not reflect the longstanding spirit of constructive engagement between the two countries and the two foreign ministries. Such statements are not conducive to good relations nor to the effective discharge of diplomatic functions,” the department stressed.

The DFA also reiterated that diplomats must exercise “restraint and responsibility in their public statements,” and “conduct and express themselves in a manner befitting diplomatic envoys, especially on social media.”

The diplomatic row began after Jing’s 15 October statement that Beijing could “easily win” a conflict with Manila through the “use of force,” drawing the wrath of lawmakers and top military officials amid the territorial dispute in the WPS.

President Marcos Jr. said the remark “sounds very much to me like a threat,” prompting the DFA to summon Beijing’s top diplomat to Manila on Monday to protest the “provocative and unacceptable” statement.

However, the dialogue appears to have done little to ease the diplomatic feud, as the embassy continues its taunting rhetoric against lawmakers and top officials, warning of possible retaliation by banning their entry into China if the push to declare Jing persona non grata takes effect.

The embassy’s combative rhetoric further irked lawmakers, resulting in intensified calls for Marcos to require China to recall Jing over the envoy’s purported undiplomatic conduct.

Meanwhile, the DFA reaffirmed the Philippines’ continued adherence to its One China Policy after the embassy demanded an explanation for Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro’s recent social media post, stating “Taiwan is self-governed.”

The embassy viewed it as “openly challenging” the One-China principle, given that Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory.

Citing the 1975 Philippines-China Joint Communiqué, the DFA said Manila considers China the sole legal government of China and respects Beijing’s position that there is but one China and that Taiwan is an integral part of Chinese territory.

“Throughout the years, the Philippines’ relevant regulations reflect the country’s unwavering implementation of its One China Policy. The Philippines values its relations with the People’s Republic of China,” it said.

Teodoro has also sparred with the embassy and China’s officials over Beijing’s sweeping claims in almost the entire South China Sea, including parts that overlap with the WPS, despite the 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated its territorial claims as baseless.

As a result, Teodoro was permanently banned from entering mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau.