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Beijing and Manila clash over arrests of ‘illegal’ workers as tensions worsen

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Cao Jiaxuanin BeijingPublished: 4:00pm, 16 Aug 2026Tensions between Beijing and Manila appear to have spilled over from the South China Sea to immigration, just as Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr indicated he wanted to “reset” ties.Manila on Sunday dismissed Beijing’s criticism of Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jnr over his role in the arrests of Chinese workers at a steel plant in Misamis Oriental in May.

A Chinese embassy official in Manila late on Saturday accused Teodoro of carrying out “anti-China activities” to “disrupt” bilateral ties.

But the Philippine defence department said the embassy’s response did not address Teodoro’s concerns, calling it “a classic example of evasiveness and a badge of deception” that amounted in legal terms to an “implied admission of culpability”.

Embassy spokesman Ji Linpeng had questioned whether Teodoro was a defence secretary or police chief and asked why he had “interfered in law enforcement operations”.

In May, Teodoro directed armed forces to detain 70 allegedly undocumented Chinese nationals at the Sanjia Steel Corporation plant, prompting formal protests from Beijing and consular visits. According to the embassy, all of the Chinese nationals have since been released.

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