China summons PH ambassador, demands gov't rein in Tarriela

MANILA, Philippines — China summoned the Philippine ambassador to Beijing on Thursday, January 22, to demand Manila "undo the negative impact" of Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela's recent public call-outs of Beijing's actions in the West Philippine Sea. 

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the head of the ministry’s Department of Asian Affairs called in Ambassador Jaime FlorCruz to express their displeasure over Tarriela's recent statements. They also accused the Philippine side of allowing him to make “misleading and baseless remarks” against China. He warned that unless the Philippines reined in the PCG spokesperson, they could further strain bilateral ties.

The summons comes after weeks of the Chinese Embassy in Manila's unusually blunt public rebukes of Philippine officials on matters related to its maritime claims, a combative turn that began when Beijing's new ambassador arrived in December. 

"The Philippine side has long turned a blind eye to its Coast Guard 'spokesperson' making inflammatory, confrontational, misleading and baseless remarks against China on maritime issues," Guo said Thursday. "Time for the Philippine side to undo the negative impact as soon as possible and stop tolerating the smear campaign and provocations." 

The string of abrasive social media statements from Beijing's embassy began shortly after Ambassador Jing Quan arrived in Manila in early December 2025. Jing, who spent years as deputy chief of mission at the Chinese embassy in Washington, presented his credentials to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on December 11. 

Within weeks, embassy spokesperson Guo Wei began posting lengthy replies to not just Tarriela but also Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, Rep. Leila de Lima, Philippine Navy Spokesperson Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, and the National Maritime Council. The statements, posted on Facebook and other platforms, often tag Philippine officials directly, which is a departure from the common diplomatic practice of keeping such talks behind closed doors.

Jing's predecessor, Huang Xilian, maintained a more measured tone during his six-year tenure that spanned the final years of the pro-China Duterte administration and the first half of Marcos' term, which has openly documented and shared China's aggressive behavior in the West Philippine Sea.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has not publicly responded to the summons or said whether it filed counter-protests. Earlier this week, it issued a statement saying it supports government officials "performing their lawful duties in defense of Philippine sovereignty." It also noted however that differences between states "are best addressed through established diplomatic channels rather than public exchanges."

Tarriela has for years become a focal point of Beijing's ire for his social media posts calling out Chinese vessels' hostile actions toward Philippine boats.  

But tensions particularly escalated January 16 when the Chinese Embassy filed diplomatic protests with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) over a presentation Tarriela gave at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. The talk featured satirical images of Chinese President Xi Jinping alongside the text "Why China remains to be bully?"

The embassy called it a "serious violation of China's political dignity" and a "blatant political provocation" that crossed a red line. It demanded to know whether Tarriela's statements represent official Philippine policy and why he has not been "held accountable."

Tarriela fired back within hours, calling the embassy's demands a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which bars foreign diplomats from interfering in their host country's internal affairs.

"By pressuring our own government over my personal and professional expressions as the PCG spox on the WPS, the Chinese Embassy is engaging in precisely the interference it is obliged to avoid," he said in a statement posted on social media.

China claims historic rights to nearly the entire South China Sea, including waters that fall within the West Philippine Sea, despite a 2016 international arbitration ruling that found Beijing's claims have no legal basis. 

The ruling, which the Philippines won at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, declared that China had violated Philippine sovereign rights in its exclusive economic zone.

Beijing has refused to recognize the ruling and continues to station dozens of coast guard and maritime militia vessels in the resource-rich waters, where they have repeatedly blocked Philippine patrols and resupply missions especially to features such as Scarborough Shoal.