MANILA — China summoned Philippine Ambassador Jaime FlorCruz to demand that Manila “undo the negative impact” of recent statements by Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela criticizing Beijing’s actions in the West Philippine Sea.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the head of the ministry’s Department of Asian Affairs called in FlorCruz to express displeasure over Tarriela’s remarks. He also accused the Philippine side of allowing the spokesperson to make “misleading and baseless remarks” against China and warned that failing to rein him in could further strain bilateral ties.

“The Philippine side has long turned a blind eye to its Coast Guard ‘spokesperson’ making inflammatory, confrontational, misleading and baseless remarks against China on maritime issues,” Guo said Thursday. “Time for the Philippine side to undo the negative impact as soon as possible and stop tolerating the smear campaign and provocations.”

The summons comes after weeks of unusually blunt public statements from the Chinese Embassy in Manila criticizing Philippine officials on maritime matters. The shift toward a combative stance began with the arrival of Beijing’s new ambassador, Jing Quan, in December 2025.

Since early December, embassy spokesperson Guo Wei has posted lengthy replies on social media not only to Tarriela but also to Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, Rep. Leila de Lima, Philippine Navy Spokesperson Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, and the National Maritime Council. The posts often tag Philippine officials directly, breaking from the traditional practice of handling such matters privately.

Jing’s predecessor, Huang Xilian, maintained a more measured tone during his six-year tenure, which covered the latter years of the Duterte administration and the first half of Marcos’ term, during which China’s aggressive behavior in the West Philippine Sea has been openly documented.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has not publicly responded to the summons or indicated whether it filed counter-protests. Earlier this week, it said it supports government officials “performing their lawful duties in defense of Philippine sovereignty” but stressed that differences between states “are best addressed through established diplomatic channels rather than public exchanges.”

Tarriela, who has long criticized Chinese vessels’ hostile actions toward Philippine boats on social media, faced heightened tensions on January 16 when the Chinese Embassy filed diplomatic protests over a presentation he gave at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. The talk included satirical images of Chinese President Xi Jinping with the text “Why China remains to be bully?”

The embassy called the presentation a “serious violation of China’s political dignity” and a “blatant political provocation,” demanding to know whether Tarriela’s statements represented official Philippine policy and why he had not been “held accountable.”

Tarriela responded within hours, saying the embassy’s demands violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which bars foreign diplomats from interfering in the internal affairs of their host country.

“By pressuring our own government over my personal and professional expressions as the PCG spox on the WPS, the Chinese Embassy is engaging in precisely the interference it is obliged to avoid,” he said in a statement posted on social media.

China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, including areas within the West Philippine Sea, despite a 2016 international arbitration ruling that rejected its claims and affirmed Philippine sovereign rights. Beijing has continued to station coast guard and maritime militia vessels in the area, blocking Philippine patrols and resupply missions, particularly at Scarborough Shoal.