The Philippines’ top diplomatic representative cursed the Xi Jinping regime on Twitter, amid a crisis over the presence of Chinese ships in the disputed South China Sea.
“China, my friend, how can I politely describe it? Let me think … or … get away from the damnExternal Relations Minister Teodoro Luxen tweeted.
“What do you do for our friendship? is yours. We do not. we are trying. is yoursThe diplomat added.
The recent dispute between Manila and Beijing over these resource-rich waters, which China claims almost entirely, erupted in March, after hundreds of Chinese ships were spotted inside the Philippines’ special economic zone.
China is rejecting calls from the Philippines to withdraw ships and tensions escalate as Manila increases its naval patrols in the region..
Luxen frequently uses this type of language on Twitter and defended his recent revolution by saying that traditional diplomatic language is not bearing fruit. Asked about his method, he replied: “The usual moderate diplomatic language does nothing. His real goal is to find a job after retirement in a multilateral conversation workshop for the diplomat when he starts herding.” When a Mexican analyst described it as “untranslatable,” Luxen replied in Spanish: “Yes, bitch.”
The Philippine Department of Foreign Relations has accused the Chinese Coast Guard of committing “hostile actions” against Filipino ships participating in the naval exercises near the disputed Scarborough Atoll.
The China-controlled Scarborough is one of the region’s richest fishing grounds and a source of tension between the two countries, which have competing territorial claims. It is located 150 miles (240 kilometers) west of the main island of Luzon in the Philippines.
It was seized by China in 2012 and subsequently ignored a 2016 decision by an international court that declared its historic claim over most of the South China Sea to be unfounded..
Cold relations between the two countries intensified under President Rodrigo Duterte, who canceled the ruling in exchange for trade and investment promises that critics say have largely failed to deliver. Faced with mounting domestic pressure to adopt a tougher line, Duterte said last week that Philippine maritime patrols would continue, insisting that its sovereignty over the waters was not negotiable.
(With information from Agence France-Presse)
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