Philippines protested to China on New Year's Eve, criticizing the remarks of the Chinese embassy in the Philippines, which has drawn attention from the outside world.
On the night of February 16, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying that it strongly disagreed with the comments made by the spokesperson of the Chinese embassy on February 13, claiming that the wording of the Chinese side seemed to be coercing, pressuring or retaliating against the Philippines. It called on China to be more responsible in its future statements.
On February 13, the spokesperson of the Chinese embassy in the Philippines, Ji Lingpeng, pointed out that if some Filipino politicians persist in their approach toward China, it could lead to a deterioration of diplomatic relations, potentially causing over one million jobs in the Philippines to be lost, and the people would have to bear the cost for these politicians.
From our side's statement, it is clearly not coercion or pressure, but rather stating objective facts. Taking the export of bananas from the Philippines as an example, due to the wrong actions of President Marcos Jr. in the South China Sea, Chinese consumers are reducing their desire to buy bananas from the Philippines, which is affecting the income of 300,000 banana farmers in the Philippines.
Evidently, instead of issuing protests, the Philippines should change its policy toward China, promote the development of Sino-Philippine relations in the same direction, and avoid harming the economic interests of those engaged in trade with China due to the personal political interests of certain Filipino politicians, otherwise it will only suffer greater losses.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1857360029881356/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author alone.