Chinese Diplomats Involved in ‘Wire-Tapping’ Should Be Expelled Immediately: Filipino Officials

China’s actions are in violation of Philippine laws and amount to “serious breaches of diplomatic protocols and conventions,” a Filipino official said.

The deliberately grounded Philippine ship BRP Sierra Madre is shown serving as a Philippine outpost on the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea on March 9, 2023. Jam Sta Rosa/AFP via Getty Images

Filipino officials have accused diplomats at the Chinese Embassy of spreading disinformation and secretly recording conversations between officials about the South China Sea, saying that those responsible must be expelled from the Philippines immediately.

Philippines National Security Adviser Secretary Eduardo M. Año said in a Friday statement that he was joining Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Commodore Jay Tarriela, in calling for “appropriate actions against individuals in the Chinese Embassy” who they accuse of leaking “spurious transcripts or recordings of purported conversations” between Filipino officials—specifically between a Chinese diplomat and allegedly the head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines–Western Command (AFP-WESCOM).