The Philippines said on Monday it would bring home its new ambassador to China after she suffered a stroke, but stressed the move would not affect efforts to solve a territorial dispute over the South China Sea.
Veteran diplomat Sonia Brady, 71, who was picked to help ease tensions with China, is “recovering slowly” after she was rushed to a Beijing hospital last week, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said.
“Hopefully if the recovery rate continues, we maybe able to bring her back to the Philippines in about two weeks time,” he said.
Del Rosario said there would be “no adverse impact” on the dispute in the South China Sea and the embassy’s charge d’affaires was on hand to take on diplomatic relations.
Brady was named ambassador in May, a month after a territorial row erupted over the Scarborough Shoal.
The government said Brady was picked largely for her familiarity with Chinese culture and politics having already served as ambassador there from 2006 to 2010.