Locsin tapped as China envoy

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed former Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin as special envoy to Beijing, days after the Chinese embassy in Manila called on the Philippines to meet it halfway over maritime disputes in the West Philippine Sea.

“[Ambassador Locsin’s appointment] is to boost bilateral relations between the two countries,” Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Garafil said, adding that Locsin will serve as concurrent Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Chinese Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Zhou Zhiyong earlier said Beijing and Manila are neighbors that “can’t move away from one another,” thus disputes between both countries should be managed through dialogue and consultations.

“China has repeatedly expressed its willingness to resolve differences with the Philippines through bilateral dialogues. Meet the Chinese side halfway and find an effective way of managing the situation on the sea through diplomatic consultations,” Zhou said.

However, the Department of Foreign Affairs said China has yet to officially call for bilateral talks, contrary to Brijing’s claim that it has already sent fillers for a proposed meeting that the country has yet to respond to.

Locsin, while serving as foreign secretary under former president Rodrigo Duterte, was outspoken in his criticism of China.

He often used strong language and once swore at China online over the presence of its vessels in the disputed South China Sea, Agence France Presse said in its report.

“China, my friend, how politely can I put it? Let me see… O… GET THE FUCK OUT,” Locsin posted on Twitter in May 2021.

Locsin also likened China to “an ugly oaf forcing your attention on a handsome guy who wants to be a friend.”

His expletive-laden demand prompted a rebuke from Beijing and Locsin later apologized to his Chinese counterpart.

His appointment comes at a delicate time for relations between the Philippines and China.

Tensions flared this month when Chinese Coast Guard vessels blocked and fired water cannon at Philippines boats on a resupply mission at Ayungin Shoal.

Manila summoned Beijing’s envoy over the incident, which resulted in one of the boats carrying supplies failing to reach the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in the Spratly Islands.

For his part, Senator Francis Escudero said there is no need to debate further on China’s claim that the Philippines made an earlier commitment to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal.

“The President’s statement should have put an end to the issue. The President has spoken that there is no such agreement, and if there is, he will rescind it. He is the chief architect of foreign policy,” he said in a television interview.

“It is not necessary even for the DFA to issue a formal statement,” Escudero said, although he admitted a formal correspondence to China might be helpful.

“Every word the President utters from his mouth is policy, whether domestic or foreign policy. The word of the President is enough,” he said.

“It is said that we are debating among ourselves just because China has made such a claim. We are riding on China’s words but if we are to listen to anyone, we should listen to our countrymen and not from our so-called rival,” Escudero added.

Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez on Wednesday accused Zhou of disrespecting the President.

“His insistence amounted to disrespect and an insult because President Marcos had declared days earlier that he had made no such promise and that he was scrapping any such commitment if one was made by any of his predecessors. Mr. Zhou and his government should have just accepted the President’s declaration,” he said.

Rodriguez urged the DFA to summon the Chinese diplomat “to impress upon him the President’s firm statement.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs assured that the Philippines is not on “war footing” in the West Philippine Sea, but is merely asserting Manila’s sovereignty in the South China Sea, particularly the country’s exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo told lawmakers during a budget hearing that the administration is “not on a war footing.”

“What we’re simply doing is trying to actually protect our sovereignty in the EEZ (exclusive economic zone) through diplomatic and peaceful means,” Manalo said.

“We are firmly committed to resolving any disputes we may have with any country in the South China Sea through diplomatic and through peaceful means, and through peaceful means, and in accordance with international law,” he added.

Also on Wednesday, Defense Undersecretary Irineo Espino told senators that it was not unlikely that China has an informant giving advance information on resupply missions in the West Philippine Sea.

Espino made the remark after he was asked by Senator Risa Hontiveros if there is a factual basis for reports that there are possible “saboteurs or informants” operating inside the Philippines to support China’s claim over the WPS.

“That’s a possibility,” Espino said.

“Of course, we are always thinking during the loading of supplies [that] there are already informants in the areas where we load our supplies before the [rotation and reprovision] RORE operation is conducted. So they get inputs and information,” he added.

Espino’s response supported an earlier statement of Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela.

“What we can see from here is that they were really prepared to block the resupply mission. Maybe they had intel on the ground. Maybe there was an informant that told them of the movement of our resupply operations,” Tarriela added.

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