The Philippines rebukes China over travel ban on Kalayaan officials

Beijing has defended its travel ban on more than a dozen Philippine municipal officials that Manila said could harm ties between the two countries, after a diplomatic spat took yet another retaliatory turn.Angelica Escalona, spokeswoman for the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, said on Wednesday that while Beijing had the right to ban the officials from entering China, its decision to do so was not helpful.“While preventing the entry of foreign nationals into their territory is a country’s sovereign prerogative, such actions do not contribute to fostering good and vibrant bilateral relations, especially in reinvigorating people-to-people interaction, which both the Philippines and China have committed to,” the Philippine News Agency quoted Escalona as saying.A day earlier, the Chinese embassy in Manila said on social media that 16 Kalayaan officials, including town mayor Beltzasar Alindogan and deputy Maurice Phillip Alexis Albayda, were banned from entering China, including Hong Kong and Macau.The ban came after the municipal council of Kalayaan, which falls under the jurisdiction of Palawan province, passed a resolution last month declaring Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Jing Quan unwelcome “for violations of diplomatic protocol and affronts to Philippine officials”.The ban was also in response to a similar council resolution in August 2023 that declared former Chinese ambassador Huang Xilian as persona non grata following the Chinese coastguard’s use of water cannons against Philippine vessels at Second Thomas Shoal.