Expel Chinese envoys in 'wiretapping,' say 2 solons

Two leaders of the House of Representatives on Thursday echoed calls for the expulsion, if not replacement of Chinese diplomats who would be found involved in the reported wiretapped conversation between a Chinese embassy official and a Filipino military.

Manila Representative Bienvenido Abante and Assistant Majority Leader Zia Adiong said the alleged wiretapping incident was illegal and could further heighten the already tense relations between the Philippines and China.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. and National Security Adviser Eduardo Año earlier made the same call as the Chinese Embassy in Manila released the conversation of the supposed “new model” deal over Ayungin Shoal, an area within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

“They should have been expelled a long time ago. Where can you find a diplomat who speaks ill of our country? A diplomat should only speak diplomatically. But this is not the case so we should really expel these people,” Abante, who is also vice chairperson of the House good government panel, said in a press conference.

“If you are a diplomat, you should present yourself diplomatically. Why do you need to [wire]tap [a conversation]? What is your intention? It reeks of espionage, and that is illegal. It is better that we can ask China to send a better one,” Adiong added.

Adiong said the diplomats’ job is to strengthen ties between countries, not to sow discord.

“Instead of promoting that and ensuring that these two countries have a healthy working relationship, you are destroying it by illegally wiretapping information that is classified, that can also be of national interest,” he said.

GMA News Online sought the reaction of the Chinese Embassy to the lawmakers' remarks.

It was former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque who first revealed that Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed to maintain the “status quo” at Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea, where the BRP Sierra Madre had been grounded. 

This agreement purportedly included refraining from constructing and repairing installations in the WPS. It also stipulated that only food and water supplies, not construction materials, could be delivered to the troops manning the ship.

President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., in response, said such agreement during Duterte era is horrifying. 

China is not letting up on its aggression against Philippine vessels within Manila’s EEZ in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) to this day, firing water cannons at will that already injured Filipino personnel.

The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration in July 2016 had upheld the Philippines’ 200 nautical miles off territorial sea EEZ as well as declared the Panganiban (Mischief) Reef, Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal and Recto (Reed) Bank as within the Philippines' EEZ.

In addition, the same court ruled that Bajo de Masinloc, locally known as Scarborough Shoal, is a common fishing ground.
 
China, however, refuses to recognize the ruling to this day.—LDF, GMA Integrated News