The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is submitting to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to act on calls from concerned stakeholders to expel diplomats from the Chinese Embassy in Manila due to escalating tension in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Col. Xerxes Trinidad, chief of AFP public affairs office, said it is the prerogative of the DFA to heed or deny such calls from the public.

“[The AFP] defers to DFA’s efforts and actions on this issue,” Trinidad said in a brief response on Wednesday, June 26, when asked on the AFP’s position on petitions to expel the current roster of Chinese diplomats in the country and replace them with a new one.

Earlier, maritime security analyst and lawyer Jay Batongbacal said he believes that Chinese Embassy officials in the country have done “nothing” to stop the aggressive moves by China in the WPS or improve the two countries’ coordination with regards to its maritime dispute in the South China Sea.

“These past few years, we have seen that they only contributed to the worsening of the relations by China and the Philippines,” Batongbacal said.

Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines (UP) Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, recalled how Chinese Embassy diplomats “threatened” overseas Filipino workers in Taiwan in April 2023 as they warned the Philippines against supporting Taiwan, as well as their refusal to recognize the pointing of a military-grade laser by the China Coast Guard towards Filipino crew in the WPS in February 2023 which led to the temporary blindness of several Filipino personnel.

He also mentioned China Coast Guard’s forced seizure of Chinese rocket debris being collected by the Philippine Navy personnel in November 2022; and the release of a phone call detailing a supposed agreement for the conduct of resupply mission in Ayungin Shoal between a Filipino commander and Chinese military attache.

“There are a lot of other instances where they are directing us what to do as if we are not a sovereign country,” Batongbacal said. “All of these things only destroy our trust to them. It only worsens the relations between the Philippines and China.”

“With this, they should be replaced at the very least. That is a diplomatic way of dealing with such things. We are not asking them to amputate their finger or punish them, what we only ask is they should be replaced with officials that are willing to talk to us,” the maritime analyst continued.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila has yet to react on the matter. 

However, China's foreign ministry earlier justified the actions of its Chinese maritime forces in the areas it claims in the South China Sea, calling them "restrained and lawful", as it accused the Philippines of intrusion in their territorial waters.

‘Demilitarize WPS’

Meanwhile, the National Security Council (NSC) slammed militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) after it allegedly called for a demilitarization of the WPS, saying it will only benefit China.

“This dramatic and blanket call for demilitarization of the West Philippine Sea favors China more because it calls on all military forces to leave the West Philippine Sea. Why call on the Armed Forces of the Philippines who are deployed to the nine occupied features of the Philippines to leave?” NSC Asst. Director General Jonathan Malaya asked.

“If the AFP leaves our occupied features, that's tantamount to dereliction of duty and betrayal of public trust. Who will take advantage of the vacuum? China," he added. 

He advised Bayan to just call on China to leave the West PH Sea and not include the AFP and the United States because it is China that has built artificial islands and military bases in the WPS and is primarily responsible for its militarization.

"The AFP is merely doing garrison duties, doing their jobs in accordance with international law and the 2016 Arbitral Ruling, why should they pull out of the West Philippine Sea? The Philippine Navy is performing its mandate to secure the territorial integrity of the Philippines and protect our fishermen, why should they pull out of the WPS?" Malaya added.

Malaya also said that that Bayan's call for the United States to leave the WPS is also “misplaced” because there are no US troops deployed to the WPS.

"There are no US troops deployed to any of the islands in the WPS. When US warships pass through, they are doing freedom of navigation operations as permitted by international law. So what is there to demilitarize?” he said.

“If the AFP leaves the WPS and the US Navy stops its freedom of navigation operations, who does that favor? China definitely. That will embolden China more. Bayan has to be more circumspect because they are falling into the trap of the Chinese Communist Party," he added.