By Liz Lagniton | 2026-02-11

A remote Philippine town that sits on the front line of the South China Sea dispute has again become the focus of a fast-moving diplomatic flare-up, after China barred 16 of the town's officials from entering the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau. The move will damage relations, Manila said.

Kalayaan, a municipality in Palawan, administers parts of the Spratly Islands, including Thitu Island -- locally known as Pag-asa, the administrative center of the Kalayaan Island Group and the Philippines' largest inhabited feature in contested waters also claimed by China.

In a February 11 statement, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the entry ban would undercut ties. "Preventing the entry of foreign nationals into their territory is a country's sovereign prerogative," but such actions "do not contribute to fostering good and vibrant bilateral relations, especially in reinvigorating people-to-people interaction," the DFA said, according to local media.

The dispute intensified after China's February 10 announcement of travel restrictions and its rejection of a Philippine Senate resolution criticizing the Chinese embassy's public remarks on the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

The WPS is Manila's name for the part of the South China Sea within its Exclusive Economic Zone.

Ambassador is persona non grata

China framed its ban as retaliation after Kalayaan's municipal council January 27 declared Chinese Ambassador to Manila Jing Quan persona non grata within the town's jurisdiction and called him "unwelcome."

The Chinese embassy said it acted on the "principle of reciprocity."

Only a national government may formally take action affecting a foreign envoy's status nationwide. The Kalayaan resolution, however, amplified long-running Philippine complaints about China's perpetual presence and actions in waters that Manila considers its own.

"The people of Kalayaan cannot remain silent as the representative of a foreign power attempts to dictate how our government should discipline its own citizens or interpret its own sovereign rights," the resolution stated.

For Kalayaan, the declaration was a familiar move. In 2023, it proclaimed an earlier Chinese ambassador, Huang Xilian, persona non grata after Sino-Philippine standoffs over Philippine missions resupplying a grounded ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, at Second Thomas Shoal (Ayungin Shoal), Philippine media reports said.

Senate follows suit

The latest Sino-Philippine dispute then widened beyond local politics. The Philippine Senate adopted, without objection, Resolution No. 256 on February 9, condemning what lawmakers described as Chinese embassy remarks against Philippine officials speaking out on WPS issues and defending the country's sovereignty.

Chinese embassy spokesman Ji Lingpeng dismissed the Senate resolution as "nothing but a political stunt."

Embassy officials "were disrespectful and needed rebuke," Senate President Vicente Sotto III retorted.

Senator Francis Pangilinan, who authored Resolution No. 256, accused the embassy of overreach and urged the DFA to respond through diplomatic channels, according to Philippine media reports.

Exchanges between the Chinese embassy and Philippine officials over WPS developments have become increasingly testy of late. The embassy has asked whether statements by Jay Tarriela, a Philippine coast guard spokesman, reflect official policy. Manila denies it.

Manila's measured statements

Meanwhile, the executive branch has avoided matching Kalayaan's deeds.

Local officials are participating in domestic political processes rather than interfering in diplomacy, Philippine leadership has stressed.

The Malacañang Palace earlier rejected calls to adopt Kalayaan's declaration at the national level. "The president's answer is 'no,'" presidential spokeswoman Claire Castro said in January when asked whether President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. would designate Ambassador Jing as persona non grata.

The DFA has also urged caution. Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro has described declaring diplomats persona non grata as an "option of last resort," and among the most severe measures available to a host country, second only to downgrading relations.

Manila continues to signal that national policy remains anchored in diplomacy, international law and sustained maritime presence. Philippine officials regularly engage China through various mechanisms, including talks held on the sidelines of recent ASEAN meetings.