Philippines: Marcos to summon Chinese ambassador over “if we wanted to use force, we would win easily” – Beijing warns on the South China Sea

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will personally discuss with Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan the ambassador’s statement that China, if it wanted to use force, “would easily win”. “It sounds very much like a threat to me, and it is not a very diplomatic statement. We would perhaps like to understand exactly what he means,” Marcos said on Friday, October 16, at the 125th anniversary of the Philippine Coast Guard. Asked whether he would summon the ambassador, he replied: “I think this deserves a conversation between the ambassador and me.” No date has been announced.

Jing Quan had spoken on Thursday to reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Quezon City, rejecting the description of China as a “troublemaker” in the region by Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro. “If we wanted to use force, we would win easily. But no, we will not use force. We love peace,” he said, adding that the Philippines “should feel lucky” to have a neighbour like China. Manila’s foreign ministry replied that the ambassador made a “poor choice of words” that appears to convey a “veiled threat of the use of force”. Teodoro said that “it was not just a slip, it is a threat”, while Senator Risa Hontiveros asked for the ambassador to retract or be declared persona non grata.

The Chinese embassy first accused the Philippine foreign ministry of “selective quotation and over-interpretation”, but later welcomed the opportunity for “face-to-face communication”. The ambassador, it said, wants to exchange views with the president on “some important and sensitive issues”, in particular “how to prevent some people from driving bilateral relations into a dangerous situation”. The same day, Chinese defence ministry spokesman Chen Xi said that China has “indisputable sovereignty” over Scarborough Shoal and the Spratly Islands and will take “decisive and effective measures” to prevent any undermining move in the South China Sea, accusing “a certain Philippine politician” of pursuing “selfish interests”.

It is not the first time Marcos has called in Jing Quan. He did so on July 21, after the July 20 clash at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal. Teodoro has suspended direct military communication channels with Beijing, while in September the Philippine military recorded more than 100 Chinese warships and coast guard vessels around Pag-asa Island and Sabina Shoal. Tensions in the South China Sea have a history of incidents, while Japan and the US are strengthening defence on the first island chain, as in the Keen Sword 27 exercise.