Senator Seeks Expulsion of Chinese Ambassador — SkimNews
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- Senator Erwin Tulfo filed Senate Resolution No. 739 seeking to declare Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan persona non grata and expel him, citing Jing's October 16 statement that China could "easily win" a conflict against the Philippines.
- Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan told a Philippines-China Studies Center dialogue in Quezon City that "If we want to use force, we may easily win. But no, we will not choose force, and we love peace," which President Marcos Jr. said "sounds very much like a threat."
- The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs summoned Jing, with Foreign Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro calling his remarks "provocative and unacceptable" and saying they "aggravate an already sensitive bilateral atmosphere."
- Jing's comments came in response to Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro calling China the lone "troublemaker" in Southeast Asia due to its aggressive actions inside Philippine-claimed portions of the South China Sea.
- The Chinese Embassy responded saying "We are fed up with these old and low tricks" and daring the Philippine government to follow through, implying reciprocal expulsion of Manila's ambassador to Beijing.
- Jing was previously summoned by the Philippine government in July after a Philippine marine was injured in a melee with the China Coast Guard at Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands.
Why it matters: The Senate's resolution and Beijing's undiplomatic reply expose how far China-Philippines relations have sunk, with the DFA unlikely to actually expel Jing but both sides publicly escalating a diplomatic fight rooted in South China Sea confrontations and increasingly hostile rhetoric.
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