Aquino sent an influential private emissary to Taipei on Monday to explain why Manila had deported to China last month 24 fraud suspects -- including 14 supposed Taiwanese -- who allegedly victimised Chinese citizens.

"It appears the mission was not successful," Aquino told reporters.

"They were asking for us to apologise and I don't believe that there is something we have to apologise for, given the circumstances," Aquino added.

Manila had said it did the right thing by acting on an Interpol alert, arresting the suspects and deporting them to China after Taiwan and the suspects failed to produce identity papers showing they were from the island.

"China came to us and told us of the existence of these syndicates preying on their citizens. We arrested (the suspects), we gathered evidence. We were sending a message that the Philippines was not a safe haven for criminals," Aquino added.

Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou expressed his anger Tuesday in a meeting in Taipei with Manuel Roxas, Aquino's unofficial envoy and head of the ruling Liberal Party, according local Taiwanese television footage of the meeting.

Labour Minister Wang Ju-hsuan later told reporters Taiwan was mulling a freeze on the hiring of Philippine workers in retaliation, although a final decision had yet to be made.

"If they freeze hires, we will... look for other places for deployment. There are other territories for instance that have signified (their) desire to hire overseas Filipino workers," Aquino said without elaborating.

Manila's economic and cultural office in Taipei will pursue efforts to resolve the deportation row, he added.

China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since the end of a civil war in 1949, although Beijing claims the island. The Philippines has formal ties with China only but maintains economic and cultural links with Taiwan.

Taipei has already raised the screening period for Philippine workers to a maximum of four months.

There are about 70,000 Philippine workers in Taiwan, sending home hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

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