马尼拉：菲律宾外交部于周日（11月5日）罕见地就有关中国的公开言论斥责了政府官员和机构，并强调在国家即将迎来一场关键的地区峰会之际，必须发出统一的声音。
MANILA: The Philippines' foreign ministry issued a rare rebuke to government officials and agencies on Sunday (Nov 5) over public comments about China, stressing the need for a unified voice as the country heads into a key regional summit.
长期以来，菲律宾制服部队一直与中国政府就南海问题展开口水战。南海是一条繁忙的水道，北京声称对几乎整个水道拥有主权，尽管一项国际裁决认定其立场没有法律依据。
The uniformed services of the Philippines have been engaged in a long-running war of words with the Chinese government over the South China Sea, a busy waterway that Beijing claims almost entirely despite an international ruling that its position has no legal basis.
上个月，多名参议员还呼吁将中国大使宣布为不受欢迎的人，此前该大使暗示中国可以“轻松赢得”与菲律宾的任何对抗。
Multiple senators also called last month for Beijing's ambassador to be declared persona non grata after he suggested China could " easily win " any confrontation with the Philippines.
随后，北京指责马尼拉为其出席东盟国防部长会议“设置重重障碍”，并针锋相对地仅派出一名使馆国防武官。
Beijing subsequently accused Manila of "erecting multiple obstacles" to its attendance at an ASEAN defence ministers' meeting, pointedly sending only an embassy defence attache.
外交部（DFA）在一份未指明具体事件的声明中表示：“破坏政府外交方式的公开声明，其危害不仅仅是让我们的外交官的工作变得复杂。”
"Public statements that undermine the government's diplomatic approach do more than complicate the work of our diplomats," the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said, without specifying particular incidents.
“它们有可能侵蚀国家在国际事务中的信誉，并投射出可被外部势力利用的内部分裂形象。此类行动最终会削弱菲律宾的谈判立场。”该声明特别针对国家的国家安全机构和制服部队，这些机构与中国大使馆在社交媒体上进行了长达数月的激烈交锋。
"They risk eroding the country's credibility in international affairs and project an image of internal division that external parties can exploit. Such actions can ultimately weaken the Philippines' negotiating position." The statement specifically addressed the country's national security establishment and uniformed services, which have engaged in months of heated exchanges with the Chinese Embassy on social media.
作为美国盟友的菲律宾，多年来一直在海上就该战略水道的争议地区与中国发生对抗，近几个月来屡次发生事件。
US ally the Philippines has been engaged in years of confrontations with China at sea over disputed areas of the strategic waterway, with repeated incidents occurring in recent months.
周日的声明称，尽管武装部队在记录事件方面不可或缺，“但文官当局指导着国家的国际关系”。
Sunday's statement said that while the armed services were indispensable in documenting incidents, "civilian authority directs the country's international relations".
声明指出，2016年全面驳回中国对南海主权的国际法院裁决是通过“根据国际法进行的严密法律程序得出的，而不是通过公开信息或社交媒体”。
It noted that the 2016 international court verdict that broadly dismissed China's claims to the South China Sea came via "rigorous legal proceedings under international law, not through public messaging or social media".
国防部长吉尔伯特·特奥多罗今年被禁止访问中国，北京方面给出的理由是其发表了“不负责任的言论”。
Defence Minister Gilberto Teodoro was banned from visiting China this year, with Beijing citing "irresponsible remarks".
马尼拉安全分析师切斯特·卡巴尔扎表示，外交部公开传达这一信息是为了“向其对话方、特别是中国保证，他们掌控着菲律宾的外交政策”。
Chester Cabalza, a Manila-based security analyst, said the foreign ministry had gone public with its message to "assure its counterparts, particularly China, that they are in control of the Philippines' foreign policy".
“（国防部和海岸警卫队）有义务制定国家的安全政策，而不是外交政策。外交部（DFA）的声明是对其官僚体制中角色的重申。”中国最高外交官王毅上周在与菲律宾外交部副部长特雷莎·拉扎罗通电话时，敦促菲律宾约束那些“抹黑”北京并越过其“红线”的政客。
"(The defence department and coast guard) are obliged to carve out the security policy of the country but not its foreign policy. DFA's statement is an assertion of their role in the bureaucracy." China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, urged the Philippines in a phone call with counterpart Theresa Lazaro last week to rein in politicians who had "smeared" Beijing and crossed its "red lines".
拉扎罗将此次通话形容为“坦诚且具有建设性的”，并补充说“双方强调了继续进行外交对话以及在相互尊重的基础上妥善管控分歧的必要性”。
Lazaro called the conversation "frank and constructive", adding that "both sides emphasised the need for continued diplomatic dialogue and the proper management of differences anchored on mutual respect".
马尼拉将于下周主办一场大型东南亚国家联盟峰会，与会者将包括美国总统唐纳德·特朗普和最近再次当选的巴西总统路易斯·伊纳西奥·卢拉·达席尔瓦。北京尚未公开宣布将派谁出席。
Manila is set to host a major Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit next week, with attendees to include US President Donald Trump and recently re-elected Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Beijing has yet to announce publicly who it will send.