Renewed tension has been recorded between the Senate and the Chinese Embassy in Manila, prompting Senator JV Ejercito and Raffy Tulfo to request a new ambassador for China to the Philippines.
According to Ejercito, the current Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan is extremely hostile to government officials. “Diplomats representing their country, they should not be hostile… but currently, he has become very hostile to our officials,” he said. He added that although Jing has only been in the country since December, tensions in the relationship are already palpable.
Meanwhile, Tulfo said that Jing is “very aggressive and very sensitive” compared to his predecessor Huang Xilian. “It will be best for the interest of the Chinese and Philippine relationship to have a new ambassador. It will help a lot,” he said, aiming to improve relations between the two countries.
Both senators maintained that the Senate was only advancing its right to fight for the interests of the Philippines. “They have been disrespecting us, but they want respect. They have to respect also Philippine officials,” said Ejercito, who made it clear that the intention was against the expansionism scheme of the Xi Jinping government, not the Chinese people.
Despite this, Tulfo called for dialogue between the two sides, while Sen. Robinhood Padilla advised being firm but diplomatic. Meanwhile, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said he no longer wants to interact with the embassy. “When someone triggers you to react and you do not, it’s annoying! I prefer to be annoying!” Sotto said in his text message.
