Two Chinese diplomats were killed and the consul general was wounded by gunshots in a restaurant in Cebu City, Philippines, on Oct 21 Wednesday afternoon.
Initial details reveal that Song Ronghua, the Chinese consul general in Cebu, was shot through the neck but was declared to be in stable condition in a hospital.
Two of his aides, Deputy Consul-General Sun Shan and finance officer Hui Li were however fell to the bullets. The shooting occurred in a private room of the Lighthouse restaurant in Cebu City, an establishment reportedly popular among local politicians. The guests in the room were celebrating Song Ronghua’s 53rd birthday.
CCTV footage reportedly reveals that during a performance of Happy Birthday by local musicians a Chinese citizen stood up and opened fire with a semi-automatic Colt .45 pistol. The shooter then exited the room along with a female companion.
The Police arrested two suspects and identified them Li Qinglong, and his wife, Gou Jing, who is a consular official. As a result, both have diplomatic passports and are claiming diplomatic immunity.
A number of news reports claimed that “Song and Li were said to be embroiled in an argument before the shooting took place.”
Li Lingxiao, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Manila, informed the AFP via text message that “Our embassy is still verifying the facts. We’ll update you as soon as I have anything new.”
Superintendent Romeo Santander, chief of the Cebu City police intelligence branch, told reporters that the case is “a matter of national security.” He added that the police would be “following protocol” involving high-profile persons.
Since he took office as consul general several months ago, Song Ronghua’s primary task has been public relations damage control, trying to cope with the spiralling bilateral tensions.
Speaking at a conference in the Philippines a month ago, Song tried to downplay the deteriorating state of relations between the two countries, telling the Philippine press that China and the Philippines have “no excuses to quarrel.” This is notwithstanding the spat over South China Sea.
The Philippines has filed a case against China’s territorial claim in the South China Sea before the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea. And the general mood in Manila is anti-Chinese that dubs China’s role in the South China Sea as that of a neighbourhood thief, who is robbing the wealth of Filipinos, particularly Filipino fishermen.
Given this backdrop the Cebu City shooting has the potential to become explosive unless the case is handled with sensitivity.