FILE PHOTO: The Philippines’ Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. (left) talks to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during the inauguration of the Consulate General of China in Davao City on October 28, 2018. (File photo by MANMAN DEJETO / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — Philippines’ Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Tuesday apologized to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for issuing an expletive-laden demand for Chinese vessels to leave Philippine waters.
“I won’t plead the last provocation as an excuse for losing it; but if Wang Yi is following Twitter then I’m sorry for hurting his feelings but his alone,” Manila’s chief diplomat said on Twitter.
I won’t plead the last provocation as an excuse for losing it; but if Wang Yi is following Twitter then I’m sorry for hurting his feelings but his alone. It’s been my elusive dream to copy until I attain in mind and manner the elegance of Wang Yi. His opinion alone matters. He… https://t.co/LgvHujxzYc
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) May 4, 2021
The “last provocation” Locsin was seemingly referring to was “belligerent actions” by the Chinese Coast Guard against its Philippine counterpart in Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea.
These actions, including the “illegal presence” of the Chinese Coast Guard in the area, recently triggered a protest from the Philippines.
“It’s been my elusive dream to copy until I attain in mind and manner the elegance of Wang Yi. His opinion alone matters. He mentored me in my Myanmar understanding and response. I went to China to get his advice before the ASEAN leaders summit and followed it to the letter,” Locsin went on.
On Monday, the foreign affairs chief did not mince his words in telling China to “get the f*ck out” of Philippine waters as Chinese vessels continue to linger in the West Philippine Sea.
Manila and Beijing have been locked in a long-standing maritime dispute.
In 2013, the Philippines filed a case with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague, Netherlands, and challenged China’s sweeping claims on nearly the entire South China Sea, including parts of the West Philippine Sea.
The PCA in July 2016 decided in favor of the Philippines, thus, invalidating China’s nine-dash line claim. Beijing has repeatedly refused to recognize the ruling.