Tulfo Meets Chinese Ambassador Today to Cool the WPS Word War — Lacson Says Senate ‘Not Surrendering Anything’
Senator Erwin Tulfo is scheduled to sit down with Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan on Monday to try and ease the escalating war of words between Philippine senators and Chinese embassy officials over the West Philippine Sea.
The meeting, set for 11 a.m. at a hotel in Manila, comes after weeks of heated exchanges between Senators Risa Hontiveros, Francis Pangilinan, and Tulfo himself against embassy spokesmen Ji Lingpeng and Guo Wei. The back-and-forth has been fierce — and very public.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson was quick to set the record straight: ‘The Senate is not surrendering anything — much less bowing to anyone — in any potential talks with the Chinese embassy.’ He said the discussions would focus on establishing clear communication lines, not on settling ownership of disputed territories.
Lacson praised Tulfo’s initiative as the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, calling it ‘a move in the right direction’ and ‘commendable.’ Tulfo is expected to brief fellow senators on the results during the all-senators’ caucus afterward.
It’s a high-stakes diplomatic tightrope: talk enough to prevent miscalculation, but not so much that it looks like weakness. Tulfo will need to strike just the right tone — firm but open. Abangan ang resulta!
Source: The Manila Times
