Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Tuesday backed calls for the Philippines to review its bilateral relationship with China after its embassy official insulted Department of National Defense (DND) chief Delfin Lorenzana.

Drilon said the Duterte government should do away with its hesitancy to get into a spat with China for fear it could result to war and confront its government over the presence of alleged "fishing" vessels in the Julian Felipe Reef.

The minority leader said China’s refusal to remove the Chinese vessels in the reef, coupled with the embassy official’s untoward behavior to the country’s defense chief smacks of “maritime bullying.”

“For me, in the first place, this is maritime bullying. It means they are bullies. Just because they are a strong nation, they think they can do whatever they want to do,” Drilon pointed out in an interview over Radio DZRH on Tuesday, April 6.

“In international relations, rule of law should prevail, one that is anchored on our laws and our own guidelines. Not because you are a bigger nation you can just do what you want. That is not right because it disrupts the stability in the West Philippine Sea,” he added.

“Second, have you ever heard of an embassy that insults our officials? I repeat, this is the first time I hear that an ambassador here in our country is insulting our national defense chief,” Drilon reiterated.

The opposition stalwart said it is clear the Duterte administration’s “friendly” policy towards China will not work.

“I repeat, what they have been saying that China is a ‘friend’ will not work. They will still be a bully,” Drilon stressed.

In the first place, he said the government should not have consented to allowing Chinese nationals to enter the Philippines at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic’s spread from Wuhan, China in December 2019 to January 2020.

Other neighboring countries, like Vietnam and neighboring Taiwan, immediately banned the entry of Chinese nationals into their countries to control the spread of the pandemic.

“That’s the first thing they did—impose a travel ban. We didn’t do that,” he lamented.

“What did (Health) Secretary (Francisco) Duque (III) said? 'Let’s not ban China, they might get angry'…This only shows that our own policy that we cannot cause the displeasure of China is not right. Just because they are giving us vaccines, we cannot call them out to say you’re wrong?” he pointed out.

“It’s a good thing then that our DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs), has filed a (diplomatic) protest twice,” Drilon said.

Drilon said the DFA may call on the government of China to recall its ambassador in the Philippines should his “arrogant” attitude persists.

“The DFA may be forced to ask for his recall precisely because his statements would not foster better relations with China and the Philippines,” he said.

“I repeat, this is the first time I hear a foreign ambassador speak like that,” he stressed.

He also said it is up to Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. whether or not the Chinese ambassador should be declared “persona non grata.”