Town in West PH Sea tags Chinese envoy  ‘persona non grata’

China’s Ambassador to the Philippines Jing Quan has allegedly overstepped his privileges by lambasting Philippine officials and violating diplomatic protocols for which he was declared “persona non grata” in Palawan’s Kalayaan town in the West Philippine Sea, an official said.

Kalayaan Vice Mayor Maurice Philip Alexis Albayda, who authored a resolution to declare the Chinese ambassador “persona non grata” (an unwelcome person), told the Inquirer on Thursday that a copy of the document would be sent to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Resolution No. 092-016 of 2026 approved by the Kalayaan municipal council on Jan. 27 cited the diplomat’s alleged “violations of diplomatic protocols and affront to Philippine officials” in relation to the maritime dispute between Manila and Beijing.

‘Can’t remain silent’

Kalayaan municipality covers the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG), which includes around 50 islands and reefs, including Pag-asa, the largest island occupied by the Philippines.

Jing himself hasn’t personally attacked Filipinos but the embassy and one of its spokespersons have recently sharply criticized officials, specifically Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Commodore Jay Tarriela and several lawmakers, who have denounced Chinese harassment and intimidation of Philippine vessels and fishermen.

Tarriela is the PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea.

“The people of Kalayaan cannot remain silent as the representative of a foreign power attempts to dictate how our government should discipline its own citizens or interpret its own sovereign rights,” the resolution stated.

It cited Article 41 Section 1 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which mandates that foreign diplomats “have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of the host State.”

The resolution was passed in the wake of the escalating animosity seen in public statements between the Chinese Embassy and its deputy spokesperson, and Tarriela and other Philippine officials over the maritime dispute.

Senate leader’s suggestion

At one point, the Chinese Embassy’s deputy spokesperson, Guo Wei, asked whether Tarriela’s “smears and slanders” against Chinese President Xi Jinping represented the stance of the Philippine government and suggested that he should be disciplined.

“Why is he able to act so recklessly without being held accountable?” Guo said.

On the same day the resolution was passed, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III floated the idea of declaring Guo a persona non grata.

Chinese Embassy spokesperson Ji Lingpeng responded, saying that declaring the ambassador instead of Guo persona non grata “would be the most straightforward approach.”

“As Ambassador, he bears responsibility for all words and actions of the Chinese Embassy,” Ji said in a statement on Wednesday.

However, the Chinese Embassy said only President Marcos could declare Jing persona non grata.

“If he were to receive such notice from President Marcos, he would depart immediately,” the embassy said.

Caution from DFA

The DFA voiced caution, saying such a move is an option of last resort.

“We know that he (Jing) won’t come to Pag-asa Island, but it is something that is symbolic,” Albayda told reporters in a phone interview on Thursday.

“Although we are a small municipality, we stand firm for what is ours, and we stand behind those who fight for our rights,” he said.

Earlier, Albayda said the Chinese Embassy also sought to “undermine Senator Francis Pangilinan by dismissing his legitimate defense” of the Philippines’ 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and the 2016 arbitral ruling, which invalidated Beijing’s expansive claims in the South China Sea, which includes the West Philippine Sea.

Pangilinan had declared his respect and recognition of the “One-China policy,” but he also challenged Beijing to respect the country’s EEZ under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Abandon claim

The senator also urged China to abandon what he described as a “ridiculous and illegal claim” to almost the entire South China Sea.

Albayda said the attacks against Pangilinan “constitutes an attack against the very institution he represents and the people who elected him.”

He added that the embassy’s statements against Pangilinan and Tarriela were akin to “wolf warrior diplomacy” and unacceptable.

“They do not have the right to meddle with their host state’s internal affairs,” Albayda told the Inquirer. “Once a diplomat starts using demeaning and maligning words, it destroys the foundation of trust.

This is not the first time the Kalayaan municipality, with Pag-asa Island as its administrative center, declared a Chinese ambassador a persona non grata.

Earlier declaration

In 2023, Kalayaan’s municipal council unanimously declared former Beijing Ambassador to Manila Huang Xilian, as persona non grata over the Aug. 5, 2025 water cannon incident that year, according to a Palawan News report.

The largest island in the KIG is Itu Aba, which is occupied by Taiwan. China and Vietnam occupy other features in the archipelago, including artificial islands built as military bases.