1 month ago
19
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
February 17, 2026 | 10:57am
Activists display anti-China placards and flags during a protest at a park in Manila on June 18, 2019, after a Chinese vessel last week collided with a Philippine fishing boat which sank in the disputed South China Sea and sailed away sparking outrage. The sinking of the Filipino fishing boat by the Chinese vessel in the disputed South China Sea was "just a collision", the Philippine's President Rodrigo Duterte said on June 17 as he moved to soothe anger over the crash.
AFP / Ted Aljibe
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs has called out the Chinese Embassy after its implied threat that any more affronts to their two countries' diplomatic relations would make them withhold economic cooperation and trigger the loss of "millions of jobs" in the country.
In a statement on Monday, February 16, the DFA said it “notes with concern” remarks from the embassy attributing job losses among Filipinos to strained bilateral relations.
“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 department said.
It warned that framing economic cooperation this way “risks being perceived as coercive and undermines constructive bilateral dialogue.”
The DFA urged the embassy to adopt a “responsible and measured tone” in public exchanges and said it remains committed to diplomacy to “stabilize and advance” relations despite “profound differences.”
Warning tied to calls to expel envoy
The DFA statement came after Chinese Embassy spokesperson Ji Linpeng responded to calls from some Filipino senators to expel Beijing’s envoy to Manila.
In recent weeks, the Chinese Embassy in Manila has issued a series of pointed public remarks responding to Filipino lawmakers who have criticized Beijing’s actions in the South China Sea, including incidents in waters within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
Some senators have called for the expulsion of China’s ambassador as they believe Beijing’s actions and public remarks have already crossed diplomatic lines. It was in response to those calls that embassy spokesperson Ji Linpeng warned that downgrading diplomatic relations could “cost millions of jobs,” and questioned whether lawmakers were prepared to compensate displaced workers.
Specifically, Ji 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?” he said.
The embassy has yet to tone down its public remarks even after the DFA has made formal representations to convey its concern about the escalation of these public exchanges.
