China may not need a fulltime ambassador in Manila to speak for it and look after the interests of its nationals on issues involving the West Philippine Sea. It already has no less than the President of the Philippines to do that for them. We Filipinos are caught in a confusing situation where President Duterte, who is supposed to be our spokesman in foreign relations, appears to be unusually interested in explaining China’s position and defending it. Instead of building on the Philippines’ victory won in 2016 in its case against China’s expansionism and destruction of the West Philippine Sea ecosystem at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Duterte set aside the landmark ruling and dismissed it as mere scrap of paper.

Pascual, F. D. Jr. (2021, May 9). Duterte spokesman of China in WPS tiff. The Philippine Star, p. 6.