Chinese Embassy rejects smears made by certain individuals in Philippine military over maritime drug cases

China firmly opposes the irresponsible remarks made by certain individuals in the Philippine military, which are completely groundless and deliberately smear China, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines said on Thursday in response to claims by spokesperson of Philippine Navy, Rear Admiral Trinidad that China may be related to a series of recent maritime drug cases in the country.

China has the strongest determination, the most relentless policy and one of the best records in the world. China has scheduled the largest number of substances and has the strictest drug control in the world, the spokesperson said. 

The spokesperson said law enforcement agencies from China and the Philippines have maintained close cooperation in combating drug-related crimes and other transnational offenses. A delegation from the Philippine Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission recently visited China and reached important consensus with Chinese law enforcement authorities on further strengthening cooperation in tackling transnational crimes.

The spokesperson was also asked to comment on the remarks by Philippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro that no country in ASEAN is subjected to the same amount of intense activities on all fronts by China, but the Philippines, and a deficit of trust is the biggest obstacle to resolving disputes or initiating diplomatic dialogue with China. 

Driven by self-interest, some in the Philippine military willingly serve as pawns in the US "Indo-Pacific strategy," repeatedly manipulating maritime issues and continuously provoking and escalating tensions. Such words and actions not only fail to help resolve the issues but instead become the root cause of the mistrust and a major obstacle to finding solutions, the spokesperson added.

"We urge certain individuals within the Philippine military to stop maliciously slandering and attacking China, heed the will of the people, engage in serious self-reflection, and return as soon as possible to the right path of resolving disputes through dialogue and consultation," the spokesperson said.