China urges Philippines to prevent officials ‘stirring trouble’

China urged the Philippines on Thursday to refrain from indulging relevant officials to stir up trouble to avoid interrupting normal diplomatic exchanges between the two countries or causing greater damage to bilateral ties.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun made the remarks following a Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson's recent slanderous remarks regarding China. Beijing had lodged representations against his remarks.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday that it supports "publicly elected officials and government institutions performing their lawful duties in defense of Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction".

Differences between nations are best addressed through established diplomatic channels rather than public exchanges, the statement said.

According to Guo, a relevant official from the Asian Affairs Department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry summoned the Philippine ambassador to China on Thursday morning to lodge solemn representations on the matter once again.

Manila has long been indulging the spokesperson to hype up issues related to China and maritime affairs to stoke confrontation and mislead the public opinion, Guo said.

China cannot accept absurd remarks that blatantly attack and smear the country, he added.

Guo said that Beijing is urging Manila to take immediate and effective measures to eliminate the negative impact of the remarks and to refrain from allowing relevant individuals to continue acting recklessly in provoking trouble.