(Contributed photo)

MANILA, (PIA) -- National Security Adviser Eduardo Año echoed calls by Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro on Friday, urging the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to take action against individuals in the Chinese Embassy suspected of violating Philippine laws and diplomatic protocols.

The move comes after the Chinese Embassy released a purported transcript of a phone conversation between a Chinese diplomat and a Philippine military official.

The Philippines claims the conversation never happened and that the embassy's actions constitute a violation of the Anti-Wire Tapping Act.

Año condemned the embassy's "repeated acts of engaging in and disseminating disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation," specifically highlighting the release of "spurious transcripts or recordings."

He argued that these actions are intended to "sow discord, division, and disunity" within the Philippines.

The National Security Adviser further criticized the alleged bypassing of official diplomatic channels by the embassy, stating that "talking to officials without the requisite authorities" and claiming agreements based on such conversations is "farcical, foolish, and reckless."

Año also demanded the removal of "those individuals in the Chinese Embassy responsible for violating Philippine laws and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations" as well as those "responsible for these malign influence and interference operations." (PIA-NCR)