By Junex Doronio
MANILA — In an effort to reduce tensions following the Philippines’ description of recent hostile actions by the China Coast Guard in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), maritime law expert Prof. Jay Batongbacal suggested on Sunday (June 23, 2024) that the Philippines considers expelling Chinese diplomats from Manila.
The maritime law expert pointed out that if China wants to start fresh, it should replace its Chinese representatives in the Philippines.
“We cannot speak to China through them because there is no trust concerning that staff,” Batongbacal said.
On Friday (21 June 2024), in a press briefing in Beijing, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the Philippines to properly manage disputes through dialogue and consultation as soon as possible.
“We urge the Philippines to stop making provocations and infringing on China’s sovereignty at once, and return to the right track of properly managing disputes through dialogue and consultation as soon as possible,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.
But Batongbacal maintained that the current Chinese Embassy officials have not helped bring Manila-Beijing relations together and even contributed to the distrust and aggravated the issues.
“The defense attaché, the coast guard attaché — it’s their job to open the lines of communication and make sure that things like this don’t happen, and from there, we will proceed. I think it would only be proper kasi nga hindi naman puwedeng walang consequence ‘yong ginawa nila,” he explained.
(el Amigo/mnm)
