Government

China Embassy Dares Manila to Expel Envoy as Senators Split

The Chinese Embassy in Manila said it would bar Philippine officials from China if Ambassador Jing Quan is expelled, drawing a split Senate response and a "pro-Philippines" appeal from Alan Peter Cayetano. The same window carried the Senate's budget fight, the Duterte impeachment pause, and a peso rebound from a record low.

By the MMI Government Desk

The Chinese Embassy in Manila told Philippine lawmakers on Sunday, October 18, to act on their threat to expel Ambassador Jing Quan, and said it would not welcome them in China if they did. "Over the past 30 years, anti-China forces have been repeatedly doing the same thing to threaten our embassy. We are fed up with these old and low tricks," the embassy said in a Facebook post, adding: "If they really want to do something, do it quickly and immediately please." The post capped four days of exchanges that began when Jing told reporters on October 15 that China "may easily win" if it chose to use force, while insisting Beijing would not.

The remark drew a presidential rebuke the next day, a Chinese-language video from a senator on October 17, and a public warning from another senator on October 18 against moving too fast. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the ambassador's words sounded "very much to me like a threat, and it is not a very diplomatic statement to be made." Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano answered with a formula rather than a demand: "dont be pro-US, dont be pro-China. Dont be anti-China. Dont be anti-US. Be pro-Philippines."

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