China on Monday warned “certain uniformed service members” in the Philippines to stop spreading what it described as disinformation about Beijing.
It added that those provoking tensions should cease their actions or “pay the price,” a statement that drew criticism from a Philippine senator.
In a graphic released by the Chinese Embassy in Manila on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun accused Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) officials of “wantonly smearing China’s image.”
“Certain Philippine uniformed service members, driven by personal political motives, have repeatedly made outrageous and absurd statements and habitually incite confrontation. Such behavior is despicable,” Guo said.
“A word of advice to relevant individuals in the Philippines: immediately stop making provocations and stop confusing right and wrong, or they will pay the price for what they did,” he added.
The Chinese Embassy earlier confirmed that it filed a diplomatic protest on January 16 against PCG West Philippine Sea spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela over social media posts that Beijing said were “attacking and smearing Chinese leaders.”
The protest stemmed from Tarriela’s post showing him in front of a flatscreen television displaying what appeared to be an AI-generated image of Chinese
President Xi Jinping, which was presented during a dialogue with students at De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde.
The image depicted Xi in an aggressive pose, flexing his muscles and holding a wooden boat bearing a Philippine flag.
Tarriela has defended his statements, saying they were not smears or slander but factual accounts supported by video footage, photographs, official PCG reports, satellite imagery, and third-party observations, including statements from other countries.
Meanwhile, Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday called on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to act against what she described as public attacks by the Chinese Embassy on Philippine officials defending the country’s position in the West Philippine Sea.
In a letter to Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro, Hontiveros sought clarification on how the DFA plans to ensure that foreign diplomatic missions observe proper conduct and refrain from publicly targeting Filipino officials.
“China is already disrespecting our seas, and now it is also disrespecting our officials,” Hontiveros said, stressing that embassies should raise concerns through diplomatic channels, not through public pressure campaigns directed at individual officials.
She warned that failure to respond could normalize foreign interference, undermine the dignity of Philippine institutions, and place officials tasked with protecting national interests at greater risk.
“The Chinese Embassy is acting overly like a victim. It is their country that fires water cannons at our personnel, threatens our fisherfolk, and destroys our marine environment,” Hontiveros said.
“We will continue to speak the truth, regardless of how it is received.”
