CEBU, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced Monday, January 26, that it had filed a protest before the Chinese ambassador and the Chinese embassy in Manila amid a very public word war between Beijing’s envoys in the country and top Philippine government officials, including sitting senators. 

In a statement, the DFA said it “made firm representations…conveying serious concerns with the escalation of public exchanges between the Chinese Embassy and Philippine legislators, such as Senator Risa Hontiveros, Senator Kiko Pangilinan, Senator Erwin Tulfo, and other government officials.”

The DFA did not say when the protest was filed or who from the Chinese embassy received the protest. 

For most of January, the Chinese embassy through its deputy spokesperson has released one strongly-worded statement after another in reaction to statements made by lawmakers, the spokesperson of the uniformed service, and even the National Maritime Council, a body composed of officials from the executive branch. 

In those statements, the embassy rehashed China’s position on the South China Sea, including its rejection of the 2016 Arbitral Award which largely favored the Philippines. 

While strong statements from the Chinese embassy in Manila are nothing new, the tempo and tone of recent statements, which started when Jing Quen assumed his post as ambassador, are. 

The DFA reminded Beijing’s embassy in Manila that the views of officials in the Philippines “in defense of Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction” — and even “disagreeing voices” — “are an inescapable part of the robust plurality of ideas that animate our democratic society.”

“At the same time, while the Philippines values debate on our differences in national positions, the Department recognizes the need for sober, professional and respectful exchanges in the public sphere. Such is not contradictory to the national interest,” said the DFA. 

Over the weekend, several other Philippine government bodies — the Defense Department and the National Security Council — issued statements against the Chinese embassy’s series of statements. 

In some of its statements, the Chinese embassy in Manila prefaced its public statements by insisting that they would not back down from defending their position on issues, particularly those concerning the South China Sea. 

The DFA added: “The Department believes that circumspection in language and actions are necessary so that the exchanges between the two sides, especially in the public domain, do not and will not unnecessarily derail the diplomatic space needed to manage the tensions in the maritime domain and constructively collaborate in the non-sensitive areas of cooperation, such as in establishing formal communication channels between the two coast guards, developing scientific cooperation on ocean meteorology, and reinvigorating our trade and investment ties, agriculture cooperation, and people-to-people interaction.“

Both the DFA and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. have said that tensions between the Philippines and China in and on the South China Sea should not make up the “totality” of the bilateral relationship. 

China claims almost all of the vast South China Sea, a critical trade waterway where over a third of global trade passes. 

Their claim — defined through the so-called 9-dash line — is without basis, at least according to the 2016 Arbitral Award. Beijing refuses to recognize that award. 

Beijing claims waters and features in part of the South China Sea that Manila calls the West Philippine Sea — an area that includes the Philippine exclusive economic zone and even features beyond it 

China’s territorial claim over these features and waters has meant the constant presence of Chinese vessels, even in features occupied by Filipino soldiers and civilians.

It has also meant harassment of Filipino vessels during military or coast guard operations or civilian fishing expeditions when Beijing’s ships try to drive them away.

Recently, the China Coast Guard rescued Filipino seafarers after their cargo ship sank close to Scarborough Shoal, a feature in the West Philippine Sea that Beijing controls. It was a rare instance of public cooperations between the two coast guards. – Rappler.com