“I won’t plead the last provocation as an excuse for losing it; but if Wang Yi is following Twitter then I’m sorry for hurting his feelings but his alone,” Locsin said in a tweet on Tuesday, May 4.
“It’s been my elusive dream to copy until I attain in mind and manner the elegance of Wang Yi. His opinion alone matters. He mentored me in my Myanmar understanding and response. I went to China to get his advice before the ASEAN leaders summit and followed it to the letter," he added.
On Monday, Locsin wasn't able to contain his frustrations over the continuous 'illegal' presence of Chinese vessels in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea.
Locsin told China to “get the f— out” of Philippine waters in a tweet.
“China, my friend, how politely can I put it? Let me see… O…GET THE F*** OUT. What are you doing to our friendship? You. Not us. We’re trying,” he wrote, quoting a news article.
His remark came in light of another two diplomatic protests filed by the DFA against China over the “belligerent” actions of the Chinese Coast Guard to Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels patrolling and conducting training exercises in the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc.
According to Locsin, President Rodrigo Duterte did not ask him to apologize but that he did it on his own.
"I suddenly realized my friendship with Wang Yi was on the line so I tweeted my concern about our friendship. That must continue. He’s my idol in diplomacy," he said in a tweet.
Only Duterte can curse, says Roque
Earlier, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque revealed that Locsin personally apologized to the Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian.
“Ang mga nabanggit naman po niyang salita ay dahil lang sa mga bagay-bagay na naging dahilan para uminit ang kaniyang ulo," Roque said in a press briefing.
Roque added that only Duterte can use curse words and no one else in his Cabinet.
“Inuulit po natin, ang mensahe ng Presidente, sa larangan ng diplomasya, walang lugar ang pagmumura,” Roque said.
“Ang sabi po ng mensahe ng Pangulo sa lahat ng miyembro ng kaniyang gabinete, ang Presidente lang ang puwedeng magmura. Wala pong pupuwedeng gumaya sa kaniya,” he added.
This after Duterte said in his regular address to the nation that China still remains as the Philippines 'benefactor.'
"Just because we have a conflict with China does not mean to say that we have to be rude and disrespectful. As a matter of fact, we have many things to thank China for – both its help in the past and its aid today," Duterte said.
The lingering presence of hundreds of Chinese boats in the Philippines‘ EEZ has revived tensions between the countries, despite Duterte’s friendship with Beijing.
