MANILA, Philippines — Tensions between Manila and Beijing spiked further after the Chinese Embassy issued a defiant challenge to Philippine lawmakers discussing a potential move to declare Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan persona non grata.
The controversy erupted following remarks from Ambassador Jing claiming that China would “easily win” should tensions escalate in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). The provocative statement drew swift condemnation from Philippine officials, including the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of National Defense (DND), with the DFA slamming the remarks as a thinly veiled threat.
Amid discussions in the Senate and the House of Representatives regarding a possible persona non grata declaration, the Chinese Embassy fired back on social media.
”Some senators and house representatives are talking about declaring the Chinese ambassador persona non grata. Is this threat or coercion?” the Chinese Embassy said in a social media post.
”But anyway, just do it. Otherwise, STOP BLUFFING,” it added.
The digital spar also drew in Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela, whom the embassy targeted in a subsequent post. The embassy shared a translated screenshot of a Tagalog post by Tarriela dated October 17, alleging that the Philippine official had admitted to threatening the ambassador.
“This is a threat. Jay Tarriela admitted it. Key point: You don’t like being threatened. Even when there is no threat, you still create one—but you absolutely love threatening others, including Chinese workers, teachers, fishermen and diplomats,” the Chinese Embassy wrote.
Tarriela quickly corrected the embassy’s interpretation, accusing the ambassador’s camp of deliberate misrepresentation.
“Lost in translation, or just consistently lying, Ambassador Jing Quan? Chinongaling!” Tarriela fired back.
Tarriela clarified that his original Filipino post was a reaction to the envoy’s bold stance against the Philippine legislature: “Ganito kayabang ang dayuhang Ambassador habang nasa loob ng sarili nating bansa. Matapos tayong pagbantaan, siya pa ngayon ang nagmamalaki at hinahamon pa ang isang buong sangay ng ating pamahalaan, ang Lehislatura.”
Diplomatic friction between the two nations remains high as China continues to assert expansive maritime claims over most of the West Philippine Sea, frequently resulting in vessel confrontations despite Manila’s landmark 2016 arbitral victory.