Filipinos Ban Chinese Diplomat Over Island Spat

The Huffington Post reports:

Philippine officials have banned a senior Chinese diplomat from meetings for alleged rude behavior, in the latest fallout from a feud over the potentially oil-rich Spratly Islands, officials said.

Department of Foreign Affairs officials said Tuesday that Chinese Embassy First Secretary Li Yongsheng, who heads its political section, raised his voice at a Filipino officer last month while discussing Philippine allegations of Chinese intrusions in Manila-claimed areas in the Spratlys.

A memorandum from the department's Asian and Pacific Affairs office said Li exhibited "conduct unbecoming of a diplomat" and that the Chinese embassy had been informed he would not be allowed to attend future meetings at the Philippine office.