China has right to deny entry to foreigners – ministry

After former Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario, a staunch Beijing critic, was prohibited from entering Hong Kong to attend a business meeting, China on Friday said denying foreigners entry into its territory was a national prerogative.

"It is entirely within China's sovereignty to allow or deny one's entry," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang in a press briefing in Beijing hours after Del Rosario was barred by Hong Kong immigration authorities to enter the territory.

"Like all other countries, China's central government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government deal with foreigners' entry and exit in accordance with the law," Lu explained.

Holding a diplomatic passport, Del Rosario, who frequently travels to Hong Kong for business, was held for six hours on Friday and was sent back to Manila on the same day.

He said it was a "clear harassment" and a violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

But China maintained a diplomatic passport did not automatically grant a person entry to any country or territory.

"(We) advised him to carefully read the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations to see if he can find a specific clause that allows a foreigner to enter other countries at will as long as he holds a diplomatic passport."

Del Rosario, who led efforts to bring the country's disputes with China to international arbitration that was subsequently won by the Philippines in 2016, filed a case against Xi Jinping before the International Criminal Court over China's aggressive actions in the South China Sea.

Former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, Del Rosario's co-complainant in the ICC case was also held at the Hong Kong airport in a recent trip with her family. — DVM, GMA News