Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 10) – Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senator Francis Tolentino urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to send Chinese ambassador Huang Xilian home, saying he has “done nothing” amid incidents where Chinese ships repeatedly fired water cannons at Philippine vessels.
\”I urge President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. to send the current Chinese Ambassador home. He has done nothing to address the continued attacks of his government on our troops and on our people,\” Zubiri said in a statement.
This comes after the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported on Sunday morning that a commissioned vessel on a resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal sustained “serious engine damage” after it was blasted with water cannon by the China Coast Guard (CCG).
On Saturday, Chinese ships repeatedly fired water cannons at Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessels on a humanitarian mission to deliver aid to Filipino fishermen near Bajo de Masinloc.
Zubiri blasted the Chinese saying they \”have no heart\” after attacking the BFAR ships.
“They have gone from unlawfully blocking us from navigating our own waters to now deliberately damaging our vessels and endangering the lives of our people,” the senator said.
Tolentino, former vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, agreed with Zubiri and pushed for the recall of the Chinese envoy.
“In light of the ongoing provocations, I emphatically call for the urgent recall of the Philippine Ambassador to China,” Tolentino said on Monday.
“Our nation cannot afford to maintain diplomatic complacency when our citizens are subjected to harassment and intimidation in our EEZ (exclusive economic zone),” he added.
Other lawmakers and foreign envoys also condemned China’s aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea.
