The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs issued a statement criticizing Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan's remarks as a poor choice of words conveying a thinly veiled threat of force that harms bilateral relations.

The overlapping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea, principally between China and Southeast Asian states including the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia, encompassing disputed islands, reefs and shoals, and the naval, coastguard and diplomatic confrontations arising from them.