Manila (AFP) – Former Philippine foreign minister Albert del Rosario was denied entry to Hong Kong on Friday, in what critics called retaliation for his attacks on Beijing’s contested claims over the South China Sea.
Del Rosario was behind two prominent legal initiatives against China, including a 2013 case at an international tribunal which ultimately ruled against Beijing’s claim to most of the resource-rich waterway.
His deportation comes as anger is still bubbling in Hong Kong over a proposed bill that would have allowed extraditions to the mainland, raising fears of people being ensnared in China’s opaque court system.
Del Rosario said he flew to Hong Kong early Friday using a Philippine diplomatic passport but was taken to an immigration holding area on arrival, where he remained “for nearly three and a half hours”.
Del Rosario’s lawyer Anne Marie Corominas subsequently told AFP: “He’s been excluded and deported.”
She said that authorities had given no reason for denying him entry, and he was put on a flight back to the Philippines. He landed in Manila Friday evening.
China has yet to offer an explanation, but Beijing’s foreign affairs ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters: “Who is allowed or not allowed to enter the country is entirely China’s sovereignty”.
Although Hong Kong was returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997, it is still administered separately under an arrangement known as “One country, two systems”.
But activists have been alarmed in recent years by what they feel is a tighter grip by Beijing, though Hong Kong still retains freedoms unseen on the mainland.
In March, del Rosario filed a complaint against Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the International Criminal Court, alleging “crimes against humanity” over the supposed environmental fallout of Beijing’s activities in the disputed waters.
– ‘Detestable retaliatory act’ –
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has largely set aside the nation’s once tense standoff with China over the South China Sea, opting instead to court Beijing’s investment and trade.
