MANILA: The Philippine foreign ministry summoned Beijing's ambassador to Manila on Monday after he said China would "easily win" a conflict between the countries, with local senators calling for his expulsion.
Foreign Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro expressed to Ambassador Jing Quan the country's "serious concern and strong objection to his public statement of 15 October 2026, which conveyed a threat of the use of force", the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
"The Department reserves the right to take further diplomatic action as it deems necessary," it said in a statement, adding that Lazaro told Jing his comments were "provocative and unacceptable".
The row follows a series of incidents involving the militaries and coast guards of the two neighbours occurring in disputed areas of the South China Sea.
Beijing claims most of the strategic waterway despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
Reacting to Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro's labelling Beijing a regional "troublemaker", Jing told reporters last week that Manila should "feel fortunate" it had a neighbour 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 after giving a speech at a school in Manila.
The comments sparked calls by politicians, including at least two sitting senators, for Manila to expel the envoy.
Beijing said on Monday that it opposed "some individuals in the Philippines maliciously hyping China-related issues and undermining China-Philippines relations".
"The Philippine side should effectively restrain the irresponsible words and deeds of individual politicians," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular news conference.
Hours earlier, the office of Philippine Senator Erwin Tulfo filed a resolution calling for Jing to be declared persona non grata.