China summons PH envoy in Beijing over Tarriela’s remarks

MANILA, Philippines — China’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Philippines’ ambassador to Beijing over remarks made by Commodore Jay Tarriela, the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, a move the official brushed off.

Guo Jiakun, spokesperson of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), said the head of the MFA’s Department of Asian Affairs summoned the Philippine ambassador to China on Thursday morning “to once again lodge a serious protest.”

Last week, the Chinese Embassy in Manila filed a diplomatic protest against Tarriela over his alleged smearing of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “dignity,” after he used an image collage that appeared to be an AI-generated depiction of the leader fuming in anger, flexing his muscles, and even holding a wooden boat bearing a Philippine flag.

READ: China protests Tarriela over alleged smearing of Xi’s ‘dignity’

This week, Guo accused the Philippine government of “turning a blind eye” to Tarriela, whom he said had made “inflammatory, confrontational, misleading and baseless remarks against China on maritime issues.”

“It is time for the Philippine side to undo the negative impact as soon as possible,” Guo said in a statement on Thursday night.

A West Philippine Sea monitor said the action was “diplomatic hypocrisy,” while retired Justice Antonio Carpio said the Philippines should respond in kind every time a maritime incident occurs.

Tarriela addressed the move on Friday morning, saying, “Since this concerns me personally, I would like to respond by saying that threatening a public servant for telling the truth will not intimidate us.”

“It only proves that transparency is working — and that China fears an informed world more than it fears international law…Transparency in the WPS is not provocation rather it is merely exposing the bully aggressor and the real victim,” he added.

Tarriela also said Beijing should respect the 2016 Arbitral Award, withdraw from its “illegally occupied reclaimed islands,” and end the harassment of Filipino fishermen if China “truly wants to reverse any ‘negative impact.’”

Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, but Manila brought the dispute to an international court, which effectively affirmed the Philippines’ sovereign rights through the 2016 Arbitral Award.

To assert its claims, Filipino vessels and fishing boats have been subjected to aggressive actions by China’s coast guard and navy, including the use of lasers and water cannons. These incidents have been widely reported, aided by the government’s “transparency initiative.”

READ: Chinese forces harass PH fishing vessels; 3 injured

Carpio said the Department of Foreign Affairs should summon the Chinese ambassador every time such incidents occur.

“This should be SOP,” Carpio told the Inquirer on Friday.

“It will not devalue but instead emphasize and publicize China’s violation of Unclos and international law,” he added. “Otherwise, China bullies us not only at sea but also in public discourse in international media.”

SeaLight director Ray Powell also criticized the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday over what he described as a “double standard.”

“This is a stark example of China’s diplomatic hypocrisy,” Powell, program head of Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, told the Inquirer on Friday.

Powell cited remarks by a Chinese consul in Osaka, who recently posted disparaging comments against Japanese Prime Minister Sana Takaichi.

“A Chinese consul in Osaka recently wrote that Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi’s ‘dirty neck’ should be ‘cut off without a moment’s hesitation’ over her Taiwan comments, yet Beijing neither recalled him nor repudiated his threat,” Powell said.

“By contrast, it treats a Philippine official’s factual statements about China’s well-documented aggression in the West Philippine Sea as a punishable offense,” he added. “That double standard shows this isn’t about defending civility—it’s about intimidating critics and chilling democratic debate in the Philippines.” /mcm