PH calls out Chinese embassy over veiled threat on trade retaliation

The Philippines on Monday admonished the Chinese embassy for issuing a veiled warning that China may withhold economic cooperation with the Philippines, which could result to millions of Filipinos losing their jobs, as both sides continue to trade barbs over their overlapping claims in the South China Sea.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it "notes with concern" the embassy's remarks and for implying economic sanctions against the Philippines.

"We take strong exception to the Embassy's tone, which appears to imply that such cooperation could be withheld as a form of leverage or retaliation," the DFA said.

In response to calls from senators to expel Beijing's envoy to Manila, Chinese embassy spokesperson Ji Linpeng warned that "any serious damage to diplomatic relations, including downgrading of those relations, would cost millions of jobs."

"Are these senators prepared to personally compensate those for their lost incomes? Or is grandstanding easier when someone else pays the price?” Ji said.

The embassy's threat is the latest in a series of escalations between the two Asian neighbors locked in years-long disputes in the waters called West Philippine Sea by Manila.

Strongly-worded statements and social media posts from the Chinese embassy have persisted even after the DFA made "diplomatic representations" to convey its serious concerns with the escalation of its public exchanges with Filipino lawmakers and government officials defending Manila's rights over parts of the South China Sea that is within the country's exclusive economic zone.

"The DFA values cooperation with all states across economic, cultural, and other domains, as it delivers clear benefits to the Philippines and its people," the DFA said.

"In the current atmosphere, this framing risks being perceived as coercive and undermines constructive bilateral dialogue."

The DFA renewed its call to Chinese diplomats "to adopt a responsible and measured tone in public exchanges."

Amid the territorial rifts and the ongoing word war, the DFA said it remains "committed to diplomacy to stabilize and advance our bilateral relationship, notwithstanding profound differences."

China insists ownership of almost 90 percent of the South China Sea, including areas that overlap with the Philippines’ and other Asian nations’ territorial waters.

The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, China and Taiwan all have overlapping claims over the waters – a major trade route teeming with rich marine life and said to be harboring vast oil and mineral deposits.

The Philippines challenged the validity of China's sprawling territorial claims in the South China Sea and sought to clarify the territorial entitlements of certain Chinese-occupied features under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas, or UNCLOS. Manila won the case against China, which refused to recognize the ruling. — BAP, GMA Integrated News