A Philippine Senator has filed a resolution seeking the expulsion of the Chinese ambassador and declaring him persona non grata, as the Department of Foreign Affairs summoned him over his recent comment that China could “easily win” a conflict against the Philippines.

Senate Resolution No. 739, which was filed yesterday by Senator Erwin Tulfo, expressed the Senate’s “serious concern” over the envoy’s statement, which it said threatened “the potential use of force against the Philippines.” It then called on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to declare Ambassador Jing Quan as persona non grata “in view of the severity of his remarks and their implications for Philippine sovereignty, national dignity, and bilateral relations.”

Speaking to the press on October 16, after a dialogue organized by the Philippines-China Studies Center of Diliman College in Quezon City, Jing declared that the Philippines was “fortunate” to have a neighbor like China.

“If we want to use force, we may easily win. But no, we will not choose force, and we love peace,” he said. “In this region, we enjoy peace.”

Jing was responding to a remark by Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, who the day prior had described China as the lone “troublemaker” in Southeast Asia, due to its aggressive actions inside Philippine-claimed portions of the South China Sea. As I noted yesterday, this remark was in turn related to Vice President Sara Duterte’s response to revelations about her husband’s alleged China-linked business dealings that arose during her ongoing impeachment trial in the Senate.

Asked on Friday about Ambassador Jing’s remark, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ‌said that ⁠it “sounds very much like a threat,” and the DFA yesterday summoned the Chinese envoy to express its “serious concern and strong ​objection” about his remarks.

Philippine Foreign ⁠Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro told Jing that “provocative and unacceptable” comments “aggravate an already sensitive bilateral atmosphere,” the DFA said in a statement. She added that the DFA would “keep open lines with China and work to stabilize bilateral relations, especially in non-sensitive areas, while firmly upholding the country’s consistent positions on important issues.”

Jing, who began his posting last December, was previously summoned by the Philippine government in July, after a Philippine marine was injured in a melee with the China Coast Guard at Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands. This was just one of a string of confrontations between the two sides over the past few years in contested parts of the South China Sea, some of them involving the use of ramming tactics and high-pressure water cannons, mostly on the part of the China Coast Guard.

Senators first raised the possibility of senators filing a resolution to declare Jing persona non grata over the weekend. The Chinese Embassy responded with a post on Facebook in which it dared the government to follow through on its threat.

“We are fed up with these old and low tricks. If they really want to do something, do it quickly and immediately, please,” the embassy stated, implying that any such move would be followed by the reciprocal expulsion of the Philippine ambassador to Beijing.

While the DFA is unlikely to declare Jing persona non grata, the Senate’s decision to pursue the issue, as well as the Chinese embassy’s undiplomatic response, reflects the depth of the trench to which China-Philippines relations have fallen.