Diokno condemns Chinese Embassy’s attacks against PH officials

Philippine Canadian Inquirer
January 17, 2026

(Screengrab from Chel Diokno/Facebook)

MANILA, Philippines — Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno strongly denounced on Friday, January 16, the series of rash comments made by the Chinese Embassy in Manila against Philippine officials who voiced out their sentiments over the dispute in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

On Thursday, Chinese Embassy Deputy Spokesperson Guo Wei directly mentioned PCG Spokesperson for WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela on a Facebook post, saying “regardless of how many helpers you may call—one, ten, or a hundred—we are always ready to respond” following the string of feedback from Filipino lawmakers and agencies backing Tarriela’s stance with the Philippines’ sovereingty over WPS.

Wei has previously made headlines after responding to the comments of Senator Kiko Pangilinan, Akbayan Rep. Leila de Lima, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, PCG’s Tarriela, and the National Maritime Council.

However, Diokno said Wei’s attacks on social media against Philippine officials constitute a clear violation of Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

“Article 41 explicitly requires diplomats to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State and, most importantly, to refrain from interfering in its internal affairs,” Diokno stressed in a statement.

He also called on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to “put an immediate stop to this impunity,” pointing out its passiveness amid the attacks.

“Hindi natin dapat pahintulutan ang Chinese Embassy at ang bago nitong ambassador na bastusin ang Pilipinas at ang ating mga opisyal sa sarili nating teritoryo na pilit nilang inaangkin,” said Diokno.

(We should not let the Chinese Embassy and its new ambassador smear the Philippines and our officials in our own territory, which they are persistently trying to claim as theirs.)

Since late December 2025, Wei and Tarriela have been exchanging heated arguments and remarks as China’s illegal presence and aggression in the WPS ensues.

It can be recalled that a 2016 landmark arbitral ruling by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) decisively struck China’s “nine-dash line” claim, after having been deemed to have no legal basis under international law; a massive legal victory that legalized and recognized the Philippines’ claim in the WPS.