President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines is facing renewed calls to expel Beijing’s top envoy in Manila after the Chinese coast guard confronted Philippine boats in separate dangerous incidents over the weekend.
Leading voices in the Philippines included that of Juan Miguel Zubiri, president of the country’s Senate, who accused China on Sunday of having “no heart” for consecutive and violent run-ins near disputed South China Sea features that “put Filipino lives at risk.”
Marcos should “send the current Chinese Ambassador home,” Zubiri, an independent politician since 2014, said without naming Huang Xilian, the senior Chinese diplomat who has upset his hosts in the past.
“He has done nothing to address the continued attacks of his government on our troops and on our people,” Zubiri said of Huang’s responsibilities.
The Philippine Coast Guard and Philippines armed forces accused Chinese maritime patrol vessels of firing water cannons and using ramming maneuvers in separate incidents near Beijing-controlled Scarborough Shoal on Saturday and Manila-held Second Thomas Shoal a day later.
The Chinese government claims both features, which are part of the contested Spratly Islands archipelago inside the Philippines’ internationally recognized exclusive economic zone. Beijing seized the first territory from Manila just over a decade ago, and observers believe it aims to do the same at the second.
On Monday, Philippine Sen. Francis Tolentino said in a press release: “In light of the ongoing provocations, I emphatically call for the urgent recall of the Philippine Ambassador to China.”
“Our nation cannot afford to maintain diplomatic complacency when our citizens are subjected to harassment and intimidation on our EEZ (exclusive economic zone),” he said.
Tolentino, who is a member of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s PDP-Laban party, was among those who condemned the Chinese coast guard’s water cannon attacks on Saturday.
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Marcos, who called the weekend’s clashes “an outright and blatant violation of international law,” said his forces would continue to conduct their routine resupply missions around Philippine-controlled territories. “We remain undeterred.”
The sentiments were echoed on Monday by the Philippines’ foreign affairs department, whose spokesperson, Teresita Daza, said China’s attempts to block the operations were a “threat to peace, good order and security.”
Daza, who revealed that Huang was summoned for a formal rebuke, said calls to declare the envoy persona non grata would need to be “seriously considered,” hinting at some reluctance to escalate the tensions diplomatically.
She said Manila used a bilateral “maritime communication mechanism” to lodge a diplomatic protest on Sunday with the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
In Beijing, meanwhile, China’s Foreign Ministry lodged its own protests with the Philippines over Manila’s complaints.
“The responsibility of the incident completely lies with the Philippines,” ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters at a regular press briefing.
Beijing has “indisputable sovereignty” over territories including Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal, said Mao. “This was established in the long course of history and is consistent with international law including the U.N. Charter.”
The Chinese government considers “illegal, null and avoid” an arbitral tribunal’s 2016 ruling in The Hague that rejected its claim to nearly all of the South China Sea via its various claimed maritime zone.
The United States, who is treaty-bound to defend the Philippines in the event of an “armed attack,” was among over a dozen other governments that backed Manila over the weekend.
Daza, the foreign affairs spokesperson, said the Philippines was “very appreciative of the fact.”
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.