China’s embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Ano’s statement.
Reuters has not heard the reported phone conversation and could not verify the contents of the published transcript. The report said the conversation had taken place in January and the transcript was provided by a “ranking Chinese official”, which it did not name.
The statement accused the Chinese embassy of “repeated acts of engaging and dissemination of disinformation, misinformation and malinformation”, with the objective of sowing discord, division and disunity.
“Those individuals in the Chinese embassy responsible for violating Philippine laws and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and those responsible for these malign influence and interference operations must be removed from the country immediately,” it said.
China has accused the Philippines of trespassing and of treachery. The Philippines has scolded Beijing for what it says is a policy of aggression and dangerous manoeuvring inside Manila’s 321km (200 miles) exclusive economic zone.