Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 18) – Amid calls for the removal of Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian over China’s heightened aggression in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Beijing’s envoy should retain his post as “he is just doing his job.”
Lawmakers have called for the ambassador to be sent back to China following Beijing’s recent spate of aggression towards Filipino vessels in the WPS. The Department of Foreign Affairs said the move to declare him persona non grata warranted serious consideration.
Asked for his thoughts on Huang Xilian’s possible recall, Marcos said: “He’s the Ambassador of China so he will always take the Chinese position.\”
Marcos said the envoy is just doing his job by airing China’s position on the WPS adding that overreactions could further inflame tensions between Manila and Beijing.
“That doesn’t serve any purpose for us to lose our temper or to overreact. So, kung ‘yan ang gustong ibigay sa atin na Ambassador ng China eh wala naman—hindi naman sa atin—I mean kung talagang objectionable siya [If this the Ambassador of China given to us, it’s not on us if he’s really objectionable], you can make it known to Beijing,” he said.
The Philippines has to work around the issue, Marcos said, but added that he was willing to negotiate with China to resolve the issues.
“I wish we talked about it over the table as opposed to colliding with each other’s ships in the open sea. Of course, I will prefer the less confrontational method of trying to decide these things. But it is what it is,” he said.
Earlier this month, China’s ships blasted with water cannons on multiple occasions Filipino vessels conducting humanitarian and resupply missions in the WPS, drawing global condemnation once again.
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China also employed dangerous maneuvers to interrupt these operations and at one point, even deployed a long-range acoustic device or sound cannon causing severe discomfort among Filipino crew members.
Its actions have further escalated tensions in the South China Sea and the portion which Manila calls the WPS. Beijing has ramped up its aggression against Filipino vessels since 2021.
In the midst of these incidents, the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines has continually echoed Beijing’s and its government statements blaming Manila for supposedly trespassing and conducting illegal operations into its territory.
This is despite the fact that in 2016, an arbitral tribunal constituted under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea nullified China’ s sweeping claims over the South China Sea which overlap with the WPS.
