The Department of National Defense (DND) on Saturday strongly condemned remarks made by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ (MFA) spokesperson who warned that certain Philippine officials were allegedly spreading disinformation.
“The Department of National Defense and the Armed Forces of the Philippines strongly condemn such an affront to any of its members and reiterates that it shall not be cowed by any official of the PROC (People’s Republic of China) whether in their homeland or as guests here,” DND spokesman Assistant Secretary Arsenio Andolong said in a statement.
“We shall continue to speak against their lies and (malicious) actions when such are committed,” added Andolong.
The DND response came after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun raised “a word of advice” to persons they described as “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,” said Guo.
The DND responded by saying that such statements “proves the unflinching and twisted attempt by the PROC to spread distorted narratives and pursue its ineffective and distasteful campaign to bully smaller countries.”
“The WPS (West Philippine Sea) and any of its features have never been part of the PROC and we shall continue to perform our duty to stop the PROC’s malign influence and illegal activities in our areas of jurisdiction,” he added.
Last week, China lodged diplomatic protests against Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman for West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela over social media posts against its leaders.
Tarriela maintained however, that his statements were based on “factual accounts.”
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “DND bucks Chinese official’s ‘pay the price’ remarks”
