Philippines Summons China Envoy Over 'Easily Win' Threat — SkimNews
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- Foreign Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro summoned Ambassador Jing Quan on Monday (Oct 19), telling him his comments were "provocative and unacceptable" and conveyed a "threat of the use of force"
- Jing Quan said after a speech at a Manila school that China would "easily win" a conflict but "will not choose force, and we love peace"
- The remarks followed Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro calling Beijing a regional "troublemaker"; Jing shot back that Manila should "feel fortunate" to have China as a neighbour
- At least two sitting Philippine senators publicly called for Jing's expulsion
- The Department of Foreign Affairs said it "reserves the right to take further diplomatic action as it deems necessary"
- China's embassy in Manila said Jing had been "selectively quoted and his remarks over-interpreted"
- The clash adds to a string of South China Sea standoffs, where Beijing claims most of the waterway despite a 2016 international arbitral ruling rejecting its claim
Why it matters: The summoning gives Manila political cover to harden its South China Sea posture and keeps the expulsion option on the table, with the DFA explicitly reserving "further diplomatic action." For Beijing, a public dressing-down in a US ally's capital — and senators openly demanding the envoy's removal — raises the cost of coercive rhetoric even as the two countries' coast guards and militaries keep colliding in disputed waters.
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