Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his government on Friday (October 16) protested remarks by China’s ambassador to Manila, Jing Quan, calling them “a thinly veiled threat of the use of force”, the latest flare-up in the two countries’ longstanding territorial dispute in the South China Sea, according to The Hindu.

Jing said the characterization was “nonsense” and added that the Philippines should feel fortunate to have China as a neighbor: “If we want to use force, we may easily win. But no, we will not choose force and we love peace”.