Philippines says envoy recalled over Canada trash row

The Philippines has recalled its ambassador to Canada, Manila's foreign minister said Thursday, in an escalation of a festering diplomatic row over tonnes of trash dumped in the Southeast Asian nation.

Ties have been deteriorating since a Canadian company sent around 100 shipping containers that included rotting rubbish wrongly labelled as recyclables to Philippine ports in 2013 and 2014.

Manila set a May 15 deadline for Canada to take the rotting trash back, after President Rodrigo Duterte berated Ottawa over the issue last month.

Canada has since said it is working to arrange for the containers' return, but has not given a timeframe.

In a statement, Ottawa said it is "disappointed" by the recall, but "remains committed to finalising these arrangements for the return of the waste to Canada." "We will continue to closely engage with the Philippines to ensure a swift resolution of this important issue," it added.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin said letters recalling the ambassador and consuls from Canada have been sent and the diplomats would be in Manila "in a day or so."