Philippines Calls For Calm Amid Officials’ Spat With China Envoy

The Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs said it has conveyed its “serious concerns” over escalating public exchanges between some officials and the Chinese embassy over the two nations’ competing claims in the South China Sea.

The Department has made “firm representations to the Chinese Ambassador and the Chinese Embassy,” it said in a statement on Monday, while also reaffirming its support for Filipino officials performing their “lawful duties in defense of Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction.”