(Bloomberg) -- China called on the Philippines to catch and severely punish the murderers of a Chinese citizen in a kidnapping case that prompted Beijing’s diplomatic intervention.

The Chinese citizen was killed after being held recently in the Philippines, the Chinese Embassy in the Southeast Asian nation said in a statement on Tuesday. The Chinese mission had urged Philippine authorities to rescue the hostage, and a Chinese American was also murdered, it added.

“We urge the Philippines to strengthen efforts to investigate the case, catch the murderers as soon as possible and severely punish them,” the embassy said in the statement posted on China’s social media platform WeChat. Chinese citizens should “raise their awareness of security” when traveling to the country, it said.

While China hasn’t blamed Philippine authorities and few details are known, any findings of fault in their handling of the case could worsen ties, which are already strained last month after vessels from the two sides had their most serious encounter in the disputed South China Sea. The embassy said it made representations to senior Philippine officials and relevant departments.

The Philippines sent a diplomatic note to China to seek a dialog with Beijing following the clash, while President Xi Jinping’s government has insisted on its territorial claims to a huge swath of the waters.

Manila’s foreign affairs department and national police didn’t immediately respond to Bloomberg News’ requests for comment on the case on Tuesday.

The victims worked for two different Chinese medical equipment companies and were visiting the Philippines on a business trip, according to earlier Chinese media reports. The family of one of them paid three million yuan ($413,000) in ransom to the kidnappers, the Beijing News reported Monday.

It was at least the third kidnapping case involving Chinese victims over the last year.

In early June, three Chinese citizens were kidnapped in Manila and later released, according to a statement by the Chinese embassy demanding a thorough investigation. The perpetrators included at least four police officers in the capital who have since been arrested, Philippine officials said, according to a report by the Associated Press.

In October, nine people including six Chinese were held at a high-end villa compound in southern Manila. Four of the Chinese citizens were killed and the other two went missing, according to a report by the Southern Metropolis Daily. Three suspects were indicted for offenses including kidnapping, serious unlawful detention and murdering, it said.

The two countries have cooperated to crack down on crimes. The embassy provided Chinese-language courses for the Philippines’ anti-kidnapping police officers earlier this year. Law enforcement authorities from both sides have also jointly cracked down on offenses related to telephone scams, offshore gambling and human trafficking, according to the embassy.

--With assistance from Cliff Venzon.

(Updates with details.)

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