Philippines Rebukes Chinese Ambassador Over “Thinly Veiled Threat” of Force
Key Takeaways
- •The Philippine foreign ministry criticized Ambassador Jing Quan’s remarks as unhelpful and threatening.
- •President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the comments warranted a discussion with the Chinese envoy.
- •China’s embassy said the ambassador was selectively quoted and described Manila’s response as an over-interpretation.
- •The two countries remain locked in disputes over South China Sea features including Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal.
- •Beijing rejects the 2016 arbitral ruling that found its broad South China Sea claims had no legal basis.
MANILA — The Philippine government has rebuked China’s ambassador to Manila, saying remarks in which he indicated Beijing would prevail in any confrontation between the two countries amounted to a “thinly veiled threat” of force.
The Philippine foreign ministry said comments made by Ambassador Jing Quan to journalists on Thursday were a “poor choice of words” and unhelpful at a time of complicated bilateral ties.
Mr. Jing was asked to react after the Philippine defense secretary described China as a regional “troublemaker”. He said China “may easily win” any confrontation but would not resort to force because “we love peace”.
The exchange marked the latest heated rhetoric between China and the Philippines, a US defense ally with which Beijing has repeatedly sparred over disputed features in the South China Sea. Manila and Washington are bound by their 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, which the United States has repeatedly said extends to the South China Sea.
Asked about the ambassador’s remarks on Friday, Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said the statement “sounds very much like a threat” and warranted a discussion with the envoy.
The Chinese embassy pushed back, saying the ambassador had been selectively quoted and describing Manila’s reaction as an “over-interpretation”. It added that relations between the two countries were “at an extremely sensitive stage”.
China’s foreign ministry separately said Beijing’s position on improving and developing relations with Manila is clear, and that it hopes the Philippine side will understand it “accurately and comprehensively”.
The Philippines and China have been at loggerheads for years over reefs and islands in the South China Sea located within the Philippine exclusive economic zone, a belt extending 200 nautical miles from a country’s coast under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which both governments have ratified. Coast guard standoffs between the two sides have centered on features including Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal. Beijing rejects the 2016 ruling of a Hague-based arbitral tribunal — a case brought by Manila — that found its sweeping South China Sea claims framed around the nine-dash line, had no legal basis, leaving the dispute unresolved and making diplomatic exchanges like this one carry added weight. — Reuters
Source: BusinessWorld / Reuters
