Manila, Feb. 17 -- The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has expressed concern and taken strong exception to a recent statement by the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines that linked job losses among Filipinos to strained bilateral relations.

In a statement Monday night, the DFA said it values cooperation with all states across economic, cultural, and other domains, noting that such engagements deliver clear benefits to the Philippines and its people.

However, the department took exception to the tone of the embassy's remarks, which, it said, appeared to suggest that cooperation could be withheld as leverage or retaliation.

"In the current atmosphere, this framing risks being perceived as coercive and undermines constructive bilateral...