Chinese embassy: Trolls in suits

Recently, the Chinese embassy in Manila, now under a new ambassador, has taken to spewing statements left and right against Philippine public officials. It has decided that diplomacy is overrated and throwing tantrums is in. Pathetically hiding behind its deputy spokesperson, it has gone after Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, Commodore Jay Tarriela, Senators Risa Hontiveros and Kiko Pangilinan, Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno and ML Rep. Leila de Lima for simply defending our sovereign waters. It has also issued statements attacking the Atin Ito Coalition, the civil society group behind three historic civilian supply missions to the West Philippine Sea.

Gone is any semblance of diplomatic restraint. In its place is what can only be described as a press-release factory, churning out statements with the temperament and tone of a comment section keyboard brawler. It is easily provoked and triggered. It is prone to anger. And always shooting from the hip, even when it clearly misses the target. The Chinese embassy acts like a troll in a suit masquerading as a diplomatic mission.

Take its tit-for-tat with Commodore Tarriela. Offended by the PCG official’s remarks at a student forum on the West Philippine Sea, the Chinese embassy had the gall to lecture a Philippine public servant on what he can and cannot say about Philippine waters. It even mocked Tarriela by asking, “Where exactly is the West Philippine Sea?” and “What are its coordinates?” This is comedy gold coming from a foreign entity that scribbled a fictional nine-dash line on a map to assert its claim over the West Philippine Sea, which has no basis in international law and has not been recognized by the global community.

China’s foreign minister escalated it and summoned our ambassador in Beijing to lodge a diplomatic protest against Tarriela. Over what, exactly? For stating facts based on international law and the 2016 UNCLOS Arbitral Ruling? Is their “hurt” remotely comparable to the oppression and violence endured by Filipino fisherfolk and frontliners at their hands in the West Philippine Sea through the years? They water-cannon our fishers and frontliners, ram their boats, plunder our marine resources and now they cry and play the victim when confronted with the truth? Oh, please. They should just grow up and stop acting like an infantile bully with a stomach too weak for criticism.

Rep. Diokno was correct when he called the Chinese embassy’s conduct an interference in the internal affairs of a host country. He noted that the Chinese embassy has violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (Article 41), which is specifically designed to require all diplomats to be aware of, and to follow, the laws of the receiving state and to refrain from interfering with the internal affairs of the host country.

In its defense, the Chinese embassy claims it is merely responding to statements made by Philippine public officials against the government and leaders it represents. It even posed a rhetorical question: “If officials from other countries slandered and insulted Philippine leaders or defamed Philippine national heroes in the same way, would the Philippine side remain tolerant and silent?”

The comparison is as fictitious as their nine-dash line. China’s actions in the West Philippine Sea are not heroic; they are aggressive and unlawful. It is a foreign aggressor enforcing an illegal claim through harassment, intimidation and violence. These are not insults Filipinos have invented; they are facts documented on the water, on videos, through photos and in a historic international ruling.

If China’s image suffers, it is not because Filipinos have slandered it. It has everything to do with how it conducts itself in Philippine waters. Respect isn’t demanded by vomiting press releases or having diplomatic tantrums; respect is earned by recognizing international law. One can’t demand respect while acting like an occupying force.

And where is the impeached Vice President Sara Duterte, “the ready to become president,” in all of this? Well, she has been seen recently thanking the new Chinese ambassador for a basketball court in Mindoro. Yes, Mindoro, home to Filipino fishers who were water-cannoned by the China Coast Guard at Escoda Shoal last December, leaving several injured and destroyed boats. Apparently, for Sara, a basketball court compensates for battered bodies, shattered livelihoods and foreign aggression.

Senator Hontiveros nailed it when she called the Chinese embassy a “bad guest.” She called on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to swiftly act on the Chinese embassy’s public attacks against government officials who are simply defending our position in the West Philippine Sea. Correct! A guest behaving badly must be reprimanded at the very least.

But beyond issuing an official diplomatic protest, the DFA should also temporarily take away the 14-day visa-free entry that it has extended to Chinese nationals. That would be a stronger and more appropriate diplomatic message in reaction to the Chinese embassy’s unjustifiable interference in our internal affairs.

And before the Chinese embassy plays victim again and cries “xenophobia” in its next press release, we assert that this is not directed against the Chinese people, who are welcome visitors and friends of the Philippines, but is a measured but firm response to its conduct here in Manila.

Our message to the Chinese embassy is clear: it cannot ask for our respect while its government continuously disrespects and violates our territorial integrity. And it cannot play the victim while their forces harass our fishers, ram our boats and plunder our marine resources in the West Philippine Sea.

So stop being a rude guest and end the tantrums. Act like a real embassy, not trolls in suits.