Senate reso urges Marcos to declare Chinese envoy Jing Quan persona non grata

Make this your preferred source to get more updates from this publisher on Google.

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday filed a resolution calling on President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to declare Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan persona non grata or request his recall by the Chinese government, following the latter’s “use of force” remark.

Under proposed Senate Resolution No. 746, Hontiveros said that even as the Senate recognizes the primacy of the President in the conduct of the nation’s foreign affairs, the chamber “nevertheless wishes to express its disapproval of the undiplomatic conduct of a foreign envoy, to inform the President’s exercise of the authority granted by the Constitution.”

“[U]nder the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, to which the Philippines and China are parties, a receiving State may notify the sending State ‘at any time and without having to explain its decision’ that its head of mission is persona non grata, thus obliging the sending State (to) recall the envoy or terminate his functions,” the resolution read.

The resolution was filed a day after Malacañang said that Marcos is not keen on making any declaration against the Chinese ambassador despite his contentious statement that Beijing could “easily win” if it resorts to force against the Philippines.

But the President earlier said that Jing’s remark “sounds very much like a threat,” and is “not a very diplomatic statement to be made.”

On Monday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) formally summoned Jing to convey the Philippine's "serious concern and strong objection" to his recent remarks.

A similar resolution was also filed by Senator Erwin Tulfo, vice chairperson of the Senate committee on foreign relations, calling on the DFA to recommend declaring the Chinese Ambassador persona non grata.

Under proposed Senate Resolution No. 739, Tulfo said that Jing’s remark “raised serious concerns over the propriety of diplomatic conduct and its implications for Philippine sovereignty and national security.” — RSJ, GMA News