The China's embassy in Manila has brought up the Middle East conflict affecting the situation in the Philippines to criticize "some forces" who are supposedly trying to destabilize relations between the two sides.

It was the first time that the embassy included hostilities in the region in its counterargument against Filipino officials over the South China Sea issue as the Philippines seeks closer ties with China for joint oil exploration.

"With the energy crisis caused by the situation in the Middle East, life in the Philippines is tough for the people," Guo Wei, deputy spokesman for the embassy, said Wednesday, April 1.

"Things are already hard enough, and yet some forces are still trying to stir up trouble with China and destabilize bilateral relations, even hoping to cause more conflict," he added.

Guo was reacting to Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela's Facebook post, where the official called out China's naval and air units for intruding into Philippine waters and airspace, in a move that came a day after a bilateral dialogue between the two sides.

Guo said that "some forces in the Philippines have been undermining the hard-won diplomatic progress" between the two countries recently.

"Their approach is fairly straightforward: first, maritime provocations, sending ships and aircraft into China’s waters and airspace and approaching Chinese vessels at close range," he said.

"Second, negative messaging in the media, using selective or distorted claims to stir tensions and shape international perceptions," he added.

The embassy spokesman maintained China's rights over the waters and cited a word from Filipino officials that "diplomacy is important, but it has its limits."