Chinese embassy goes on the offensive

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January 21, 2026 | 4:42pm

MANILA, Philippines — The Chinese Embassy in Manila has spent the opening weeks of 2026 lashing out at Philippine officials on social media, issuing a stream of unusually blunt statements that accuse them of lying, misunderstanding international law or deliberately misleading the public about Beijing’s actions in the West Philippine Sea.

In at least 15 Facebook posts over three weeks, the Chinese Embassy in Manila has repeatedly singled out Philippine Coast Guard Spokesperson Jay Tarriela, questioned Sen. Kiko Pangilinan's understanding of international law, accused Rep. Leila de Lima (ML Partylist) of spreading falsities, told Rep. Chel Diokno (Akbayan Partylist) his logical was "fundamentally erroneous" and criticized the National Maritime Council for calling out its posts, among others.

The most pointed remarks have been aimed at Tarriela. In one post this week, embassy deputy spokesperson Guo Wei asked Tarriela “how many times have you actually lied?” and demanded that the Philippine government explain why he had not been “held accountable" for his remarks.

The embassy accused Tarriela of spreading “false narratives” about China’s actions at sea, a charge it repeated across several posts that aimed to debunk the Philippine side's characterization of Chinese vessels' hostile actions at sea.

Lawmakers publicly rebuked

The embassy’s posts have also taken aim at sitting lawmakers — De Lima, Pangilinan and Diokno — who have spoken out on Manila and Beijing's maritime dispute.

The first exchange came on January 1, after Pangilinan criticized China's military drills around Taiwan. The embassy shot back the same day, saying Taiwan is an "inalienable part of China's territory" and accusing Pangilinan of interfering in China's internal affairs.

Days later, Pangilinan posted that the Philippines would "never bow down to Xi Jinping's illegal policy claims in the region" and invoked the 2016 arbitral award that invalidated its claim to nearly the entire South China Sea. The embassy responded on January 5 the tribunal's legitimacy, calling it "nothing but a five-member ad hoc tribunal."

In responding to Pangilinan, the embassy said: "Therefore, before saying anything, make sure one understands the history, the facts, and the law."

De Lima called the embassy's position on the South China Sea "Orwellian doublespeak" on January 13 and accused it of spreading lies. The lawmaker was reacting to a statement by the embassy rejecting the National Maritime Council's remarks that tensions in the West Philippine Sea stem from China's "illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive activities." The embassy had called the council's statement "unfounded and misleading" and argued that the Philippines has been "provoking trouble" since 1999.

The embassy told De Lima the next day that her argument was "wrongful and groundless."

Diokno weighed in on January 17, saying the embassy's attacks on Pangilinan, De Lima, Tarriela and the National Maritime Council violated Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which bars diplomats from interfering in a host state's internal affairs. He called on the Department of Foreign Affairs to act: "Hindi natin dapat pahintulutan ang Chinese Embassy at ang bago nitong ambassador na bastusin ang Pilipinas at ang ating mga opisyal."

 The embassy fired back the same day, telling Diokno his "logic is fundamentally erroneous." It argued that when Philippine officials criticize China or Chinese leadership, it crosses into a "diplomatic incident" that gives the embassy every right to respond. The embassy listed five instances where it claimed Philippine officials "first launched unfounded attacks" against China, then told Diokno: "Before hastily assigning labels or making accusations, it would be both responsible and prudent to first ascertain the facts."

The Department of Foreign Affairs broke its silence on Wednesday, January 21, affirming its support for Philippine officials defending the country's maritime claims. In a statement, the DFA said differences between states were best addressed through "established diplomatic channels rather than public exchanges."

The statement did not name the Chinese Embassy directly but appeared to be a pointed response to its social media offensive. 

"The DFA will continue to articulate the Philippines' positions on the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, which are grounded in international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS and the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award," it said.

The department's statement came after Sen. Risa Hontiveros urged it yesterday to act on what she called the embassy's "public attacks" against officials. In a January 20 letter to Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro, Hontiveros said allowing such attacks to pass without response "risks normalizing foreign interference and undermining the dignity of Philippine institutions."