The Philippines will summon China’s ambassador to Manila following a fresh confrontation between the two countries in the disputed South China Sea, the office of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced on Tuesday.
The move came just hours after China’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Philippine ambassador in Beijing, as both governments traded accusations over a recent incident near the Second Thomas Shoal.
Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro confirmed that Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan had been called to meet President Marcos at 5 p.m. local time (0900 GMT).
The diplomatic exchange follows Monday’s confrontation at the Second Thomas Shoal, where both sides accused each other of provoking the incident.
Philippine officials said one of their navy personnel sustained a head injury during the encounter, while Beijing insisted that Philippine forces initiated the confrontation.
In a statement, China’s Foreign Ministry accused Manila of deliberately provoking the incident before attempting to shift blame.
“The Philippine side provoked the incident first, yet has turned around and made counter-accusations, distorted the facts and engaged in malicious hype,” the ministry said.
China Coast Guard officials alleged that two rubber boats launched from the grounded Philippine naval vessel BRP Sierra Madre collided with a Chinese patrol vessel and that Philippine personnel attacked Chinese law enforcement officers using oars and long sticks.
The Philippines has not publicly accepted China’s version of events, maintaining that its personnel were carrying out legitimate operations in waters it considers within its exclusive economic zone.
Formal diplomatic summons between Beijing and Manila remain relatively uncommon despite years of maritime disputes in the South China Sea.
Tuesday’s action marks the third publicly disclosed occasion during the Marcos administration that China has formally summoned the Philippine ambassador.
Previous summonses occurred in January 2024 after President Marcos congratulated Taiwan’s then president-elect, Lai Ching-te, and again in November 2024 following the Philippines’ enactment of the Maritime Zones Act and the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act.
China has also repeatedly called in Philippine diplomats over disputes involving the South China Sea and issues related to Taiwan, although such meetings have often taken the form of diplomatic representations rather than formal summonses.
The latest move by Manila is the first publicly reported instance since 2023 that President Marcos has summoned China’s ambassador, following an earlier incident in which a Chinese Coast Guard vessel allegedly directed a military-grade laser at a Philippine Coast Guard ship.
The renewed diplomatic exchanges underscore the continued strain in relations between the two countries as competing territorial claims in the South China Sea remain a major source of regional tension.
