The Chinese Embassy in Manila accused certain senators of being disrespectful to Chinese officials following criticisms from Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.
Sotto had earlier called out embassy spokesperson Ji Lingpeng for allegedly trying to silence the Senate after it passed Resolution No. 256 condemning Chinese remarks on the West Philippine Sea.
In a statement posted Wednesday, the embassy cited instances of alleged verbal abuse, including Senator Erwin Tulfo’s speech defending the resolution where he reportedly told Chinese diplomats to “Get the f*ck out!”
The embassy added: “You also say we are disrespectful. Yet some senators labelled China as bully, called the Chinese Embassy a ‘bad guest’ or a ‘troll farm.’ Is that what you call respect?”
Warning against “baseless attacks and smears,” the embassy asserted its right to respond under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
“If falsehoods are spread, if China is maliciously vilified, if hatred is incited, we will not stay silent. We will respond firmly and without hesitation,” it said.
The embassy also stressed that pressuring China through resolutions or complaints “simply does not work,” vowing to debunk what it called lies and schemes targeting bilateral ties.
Sotto brushed off the comments, saying: “When someone triggers you to react and you do not, it’s annoying! I prefer to be annoying!”
The row comes after the embassy barred officials from Kalayaan, Palawan from entering China, including Hong Kong and Macao, following the town’s declaration of Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan as persona non grata.