Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan warned that Beijing could easily defeat the Philippines by force, prompting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to state the matter deserves a discussion and drawing sharp denunciations from Philippine officials who called the remarks a direct threat and coercion.
The diplomatic crisis intensified following remarks made by Ambassador Jing Quan during a forum on October 15, 2026, at Diliman College in Quezon City. Responding to questions about escalating maritime disputes in the South China Sea, the diplomat asserted that if we want to use force, we may easily win. But no, we will not choose to use force. And we love peace.
While insisting that Beijing seeks regional stability, Jing also criticized Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. for suspending direct military-to-military communications, warning that Manila faces greater risks of confrontation and conflict by keeping those channels closed.
President Marcos and Department of Foreign Affairs Condemn Ambassador Remarks
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. responded to the statements, stating that the remarks sounded very much to me like a threat and it is not a very diplomatic statement to be made. Marcos stated that the issue deserves a discussion between the ambassador and myself.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs issued a formal statement calling the envoy’s declarations a thinly veiled threat of the use of force. The agency noted that such rhetoric is unhelpful for bilateral ties and urged accredited diplomats to exercise greater care in public statements to avoid eroding mutual trust.
It is regrettable that Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan today had a poor choice of words that would seem to convey a thinly veiled threat of the use of force, which is hardly helpful in the context of the complicated bilateral ties between the Philippines and China.
Department of Foreign Affairs
Chinese Embassy Refutes Allegations and Challenges Lawmakers Over Persona Non Grata Talks
The Chinese Embassy in Manila defended the ambassador’s comments, arguing that his words were subjected to selective quotation and overinterpretation.
Photo: The Independent
As several senators and members of the House of Representatives began discussing whether to declare Ambassador Jing persona non grata, the embassy issued a defiant public challenge on social media, telling lawmakers to stop bluffing and proceed with the measure if they truly intended to carry it out.
Coast Guard Spokesperson Jay Tarriela and House Lawmakers Push Back Against Coercion Claims
Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Adm. Jay Tarriela rejected the embassy’s framing, characterizing the ambassador’s comparison of military might as coercion by other means rather than an offer of peace or security.
When a larger power tells a smaller nation that it could easily win if it chose force, it is not offering security. It is asserting dominance and expecting silence in return.
Photo: The Manila Times
Deputy Speaker Francisco Paolo Ortega V, via The Manila Times
House lawmakers, including Deputy Speaker Jefferson Khonghun, emphasized that the Philippines has never sought mercy from Beijing, but merely demanded compliance with UNCLOS and the 2016 Arbitral Award, which invalidated China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, maritime tensions persist in contested waters, where military authorities tracked 101 Chinese vessels around Scarborough Shoal, Thitu Island, Second Thomas Shoal, and Sabina Shoal in September.
In October, maritime confrontations continued when a China Coast Guard vessel deployed a water cannon while Philippine personnel were conducting a medical evacuation of an ailing Navy serviceman stationed aboard the BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal, extending a routine transfer operation to nearly ten hours.
