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Chinese envoy: ‘Philippines, Province of China’ banners a ‘vicious attack’ on Manila-Beijing relations


Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua said Tuesday the proliferation last week of banners with a message tagging the Philippines as a province of China was an affront to the bilateral relations between Manila and Beijing.

Red banners bearing the message "Welcome to the Philippines, Province of China" were spotted hanging on several pedestrian overpasses on July 12 in time for the second anniversary of the Philippines' sweeping victory against China in the arbitration case involving the disputed South China Sea.

“It’s kind of a vicious attack not only on the relations between our two countries but also on the independent foreign policy pursued by President Duterte and his administration,” Zhao told reporters in Manila.

The ambassador said he did not find the banners offensive to China even as he described it as “bad.”

“It [the Philippines] has never been [a] part of China...not now, not ever,” Zhao added.

Malacañang earlier said those behind the tarpaulins were the opponents of the government, with presidential spokesperson Harry Roque calling them “crazy” and “traitors” of the nation.

He also said one can disagree with President Rodrigo Duterte’s policy on the South China Sea dispute without disrespecting the country.

The tarpaulin's message seemed to be a reference to Duterte's joke in February when he told a gathering of Filipino-Chinese businessmen about making the Philippines a province of China.

Zhao, however, saw Duterte's joke as a manifestation of wanting to have closer relations that became frosty when Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, took Beijing to court.

Relations between the Philippines and China have vastly improved under Duterte, who sought Chinese trade and economic aid while shelving long-running territorial disputes, including the United Nations arbitral tribunal case won by Manila two years ago on Thursday, the same day the banners appeared.

Duterte, criticized for allegedly kowtowing to Beijing even amid the territorial dispute, has repeatedly indicated that he would not  provoke the Asian power into war.

Roque, however, assured last week the Duterte administration is building up its capabilities “to eventually assert our sovereign rights and interests.” — RSJ, GMA News

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