Tarriela hits Chinese Embassy over alleged mistranslation: ‘“Lost in translation, or just consistently lying, Ambassador Jing Quan? Chinongaling!”

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela on Saturday, October 17, criticized the Chinese Embassy in Manila over what he described as a misleading translation of his social media post, drawing amused reactions from online commenters.

“Lost in translation, or just consistently lying, Ambassador Jing Quan? Chinongaling!” Tarriela wrote in his post.

The dispute centers on how the Chinese Embassy characterized Tarriela’s earlier remarks about Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan and the ongoing tensions between the Philippines and China.

In his original post, Tarriela said the foreign ambassador was acting arrogantly while in the Philippines and challenging the Philippine government and legislature.

“Just do it. Otherwise, stop bluffing,” Tarriela quoted himself as saying, adding that such words were not those of a diplomat but of someone who had forgotten he was merely a visitor in the country.

The Chinese Embassy, in its response, accused Tarriela of making a threat and claimed he had admitted to it. It also accused him of threatening Chinese workers, teachers, fishermen and diplomats.

Tarriela disputed the embassy’s characterization, prompting renewed criticism and mockery from some social media users.

“This is soooo hilarious...lost in translation nga!!” commented Claudia Tamayo.

Another commenter, Marilyn Cuna Arandia, described the issue as an “out of context translation,” adding, “Lost in translation nga.”

Dani Rodriguez also questioned the outcome of the translation, remarking that despite China having advanced data centers for machine translation, the translated text still appeared unable to capture Filipino or Tagalog properly.

The latest exchange comes amid a diplomatic dispute over Jing’s remarks on October 15 that China could “easily win” if it chose to use force, although he said Beijing would not do so because it valued peace.

The Department of Foreign Affairs criticized Jing’s choice of words, describing them as a “thinly veiled threat of the use of force” and urging diplomats in the Philippines to exercise care in their public statements.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also said on October 16 that Jing’s remarks sounded like a threat and that the issue warranted a discussion between them.

The latest disagreement adds to the public exchange of criticisms between Tarriela and the Chinese Embassy amid continuing maritime tensions between Manila and Beijing over the West Philippine Sea.