The Philippines is withdrawing top diplomats from Canada after Ottawa missed a deadline to take back 69 shipping containers full of trash, the latest move in a long-running row stoked by threats from Manila’s outspoken president, Trend reports citing Reuters.
Last month, President Rodrigo Duterte threatened Canada with war and said he would personally escort the waste containers by sea back to Canada.
“We shall maintain a diminished diplomatic presence in Canada until its garbage is ship-bound there,” Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin said on Twitter on Thursday after the May 15 deadline expired.
Locsin also took issue with Philippine diplomats for not doing enough to ensure Canada took back the trash, accusing them of acting in defiance of their president to preserve friendly relations.
Canada’s foreign ministry was not immediately available for comment after office hours. Its embassy in Manila referred Reuters’ queries to its foreign ministry.