Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Manuel Romualdez speaks during a U.S. Trade and Development Agency Offshore Wind Grant Signing at Ayala Triangle Gardens in Manila, Philippines, August 6, 2022. Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Published March 3, 2024
BEIJING — China’s embassy in the Philippines on Sunday said it “strongly” condemns the Philippine ambassador to Washington’s recent China-related remarks, saying they “disregarded basic facts”.
The remarks “wantonly hyped up the South China Sea issue and made speculations and malicious smears against China,” the embassy said in a statement.
Jose Manuel Romualdez said on Wednesday that while the United States sees both the South China Sea issue and a potential Taiwan conflict as “serious concerns”, he believed the “real flashpoint is the West Philippine Sea” given “all of these skirmishes happening there.”
“Who is stirring up the situation in the South China Sea? Who are spreading “China threat”? Who are ganging up in small blocks? Who invented “economic coercion”? Where did it originate? Who weaponizes economic power and gets addicted to sanctions?” the embassy’s spokesperson, who was left unnamed, asked.
“The questions are self-explanatory,” the spokesperson continued.
The Chinese embassy further said that bringing in “outside forces” and “forming small circles” will not help address disputes in the contested waters but would only complicate the regional situation, undermine regional peace and stability, and backfire on its own security.
It then urged Romualdez to stop spreading “erroneous ‘China threat’ and ‘Sinophobia’ remarks,” and called on the Philippine official to refrain from being a “mouthpiece” for other countries.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Commodore Jay Tarriela, continued to belie China’s territorial claims over the disputed waters.
READ FULL ARTICLE
SOURCE: www.globalnation.inquirer.net
RELATED: China to envoy: Stop smear campaign
Published March 3, 2024
MANILA, Philippines: The Chinese Embassy in Manila has urged Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez to stop spreading erroneous “China threat” and “sinophobia” remarks.
Romualdez earlier said the “real flashpoint” in the region would be in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and not in the Taiwan Strait as skirmishes in the area sometimes made President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. lose sleep.
At the sidelines of the general membership meeting of the Consular Corps of the Philippines last February 28, Romualdez also said that the scheduled P1.7 trillion US investment to Manila would “counter any economic coercion from China.”
“It is deplorable that the said individual, in ignorance of basic facts, again used the South China Sea issue to hype up and launch a baseless accusation and malicious smear campaign against China,” the embassy said.
“Who are stirring up the situation in the South China Sea? Who are spreading ‘China threat’? Who are ganging up in small blocks? Who invented ‘economic coercion’? Where did it originate? Who weaponizes economic power and gets addicted to sanctions? The questions are self-explanatory,” it said.
READ FULL ARTICLE
SOURCE: www.manilatimes.net
RELATED: Don’t use South China Sea dispute to smear China, embassy urges
The Chinese Embassy in Manila called out a Filipino ambassador over his remarks that the “real flashpoint” in the region is the disputed waters in the South China Sea.
Published March 3, 2024
In a statement posted on its Facebook page on Sunday, March 3, the spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy did not name Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez but warned an “individual” against spreading accusations.
“It is deplorable that the said individual, in ignorance of basic facts, again used the South China Sea issue to hype up and launch a baseless accusation and malicious smear campaign against China,” the statement read.
“We urge the said individual to stop spreading erroneous ‘China threat’ and ‘Sinophobia’ remarks, refrain from serving as mouthpiece for another country and do more for the benefit of his own people and his country’s relations with China instead,” it added.
During the Consular Corps of the Philippines on Wednesday, Feb. 28, Romualdez said that the tensions between the Philippines and China are more alarming than the possibility of an escalated dispute between China and Taiwan.
“The real problem and the real flashpoint, which is why I’m telling you how critical it is for us. The real flashpoint is in the West Philippine Sea,” he stated, referring to the term used for the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The embassy instead maintained that “Asian countries and people have the wisdom and ability to solve their own problems.”
“Bringing in outside forces and forming ‘small circles’ will not help resolve disputes in the South China Sea, but only complicate the regional situation, undermine regional peace and stability, and backfire on its own security,” the embassy said.
