China denies ex-ambassador’s claim in column

THE Chinese Embassy in Manila described as “utterly wrong” the claim that China avoids conflict in the South China Sea because of the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and the Philippines. The embassy objected to what retired ambassador Jaime Yambao wrote in his The Manila Times column titled “Concerning the loose tongue of an ambassador.” It said the column was “filled with serious historical falsehoods, blatant bias, and unprofessional judgment.” Yambao wrote that “if China has not attacked the Philippines, it is not for love of peace, it is the deterrent effect of the Mutual Defense Treaty between the two countries.” “China’s consistent commitment to peace, dialogue, and regional stability stems from its independent foreign policy and sincere respect for regional peace, not external military deterrence,” the embassy said in a statement. “China chooses restraint out of goodwill for its neighbors, not fear of any alliance,” it added. Yambao said that if the Chinese truly love peace, they would abide by the United Nations (UN) Charter of solving disputes by peaceful means. “They would have followed the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on disputes settlement.” “They would have considered as settled the dispute it has with the Philippines by the conclusions of the arbitral tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague,” he said. The PCA in July 2016 invalidated China’s claim in the South China Sea, which encroached on the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The embassy stressed that the arbitral award “is legally invalid, politically biased, and lacks any binding force.” “China has never recognized this unlawful ruling, and no country can legitimately rely on it to make policy judgments or provoke maritime tensions,” it said. Yambao also mentioned calls from lawmakers and some sectors to declare Ambassador Jing Quan persona non grata for saying that “if we want to use force, we may easily win” — which was viewed as a “veiled threat against the Philippines. “It is quite likely that China would take the side of its ambassador and retaliate by declaring our innocent ambassador (Jaime FlorCruz) in Beijing persona non grata,” Yambao said. The embassy replied that “openly attacking another country’s political system in a public commentary demonstrates a severe lack of basic diplomatic courtesy and sovereign respect.” “Regrettably, the author Jaime Yambao, though a retired Philippine ambassador, shows none of the professionalism expected of a seasoned diplomat,” it said. “If a senior retired Philippine diplomat cannot objectively and accurately understand China’s consistent stance of promoting stable and peaceful China-Philippines relations, it reflects either poor cognitive judgment or regrettable diplomatic incompetence,” it said. “Such biased, confrontational, and factually erroneous remarks are truly unfortunate,” the embassy said. It also described as “entirely misleading and factually wrong” Yambao’s account of the Yultong Battle during the Korean War. “No official US or Chinese military archives support the exaggerated claim that 900 Filipino troops defeated 40,000 Chinese soldiers. In reality, Filipino forces retreated on US orders after the engagement, and Chinese troops secured full control of the battlefield,” it said.