Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. has cautioned a Chinese foreign ministry official from “reading too much” into a simple directive of President Duterte for the Philippines not to join the navies of other countries in maritime drills in the South China Sea.

“Wang, you’re reading too much into a simple directive not to join these naval exercises in the SCS (South China Sea) at this time,” Locsin said in a tweet on Thursday, in an apparent reference to the statement of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Bin welcoming the President’s directive.

Locsin pointed out that the Philippine position has been “consistent and clear.”

“What is ours is ours under the Arbitral Award and no one else can tell us different. Our relations have been going really well. Let’s keep it that way. We’re sitting out this one, we don’t know if we will the next one. Okay?” Locsin said.

On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang welcomed the pronouncement made by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana that President Duterte directed them not to get involved in naval exercises in the South China Sea “except our national waters.”

 “This statement once again reflects the independent foreign policy of the Philippines and the common aspiration of countries in the region to pursue peace and development,” the Chinese foreign ministry official said.

In a separate interview by China’s state-owned Xinhua news agency, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the South China Sea is a shared home for the countries in the region and should not be a “wrestling ground” for international politics.

“Thanks to years of hard work, countries in the region have found effective ways to properly address their differences, and reached an unequivocal consensus that China and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries should work together to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea,” Wang said.