Manila [Philippines], September 9 : Philippines Defence Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro publicly denounced Beijing after receiving an unexpected note outlining China’s stance on the South China Sea while delivering an address at a defence conference in South Korea.
The incident unfolded during the Seoul Defence Dialogue when a man dressed in a white sports jacket approached Teodoro from behind and placed a document on the adjacent table. Forum organisers and South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency indicated that the message originated from a Chinese military attaché stationed at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul.
According to Yonhap, the attaché passed the slip to a member of the event staff with instructions to hand it to Teodoro. The staff member mistakenly assumed the memo came from the Philippine delegation and delivered it while Teodoro was actively speaking.
Pausing his presentation, Teodoro picked up the paper and informed the attendees, "I have a note here, I think this is from China. And may I read it?"
He proceeded to read the message aloud. The note asserted that China's stance regarding the South China Sea arbitration remained "clear, consistent and firm", claiming that the 2016 ruling breached "fundamental principles of international law".
The communication referenced the landmark 2016 South China Sea Arbitration initiated by the Philippines against China pursuant to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The international tribunal dismissed Beijing's expansive historic rights claims, determining that there existed no legal justification for claiming resources within maritime zones falling inside the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. Beijing has persistently dismissed the arbitration verdict, arguing that the tribunal lacked jurisdiction over the matter.
Following his reading of the note, Teodoro questioned the appropriateness of delivering such a communication during his address at the international gathering. He asked, "How can you deal with a country in an international forum, beyond the question asked to me, disrespecting the organisers of this forum. How do you expect to deal with it civilly?"
He argued that the delivery tactic demonstrated disrespect towards him, the event's host nation South Korea, and fellow delegates.
Stating his objections, Teodoro remarked, "If this is a Chinese position sent to me, it not only disrespects international law, throwing UNCLOS to the floor and trampling upon it, but it also disrespects the basic decency accorded that should be accorded to our most gracious host, the Republic of Korea and the rest of the audience here."
Teodoro subsequently accused Beijing of employing intimidation tactics, stating, "So, perhaps basic decency and behaviour is what China needs to do. This is actual coercion, bullying and aggression."
Displaying the document, the defence chief added, "I will keep this paper as a memento of how desperate China is and how ineffective its position is in the face of a free audience."
Directing a remark towards the individual who delivered the paper, he added a critical comment, stating, "You've just done your country a great service. Thank you, and I hope you don't suffer in a gulag for it."
Teodoro leveraged the episode to spotlight Manila’s wider territorial contentions with Beijing in the contested waterway.
"I think it is well known to the public, to everyone here, about the Philippine situation where we face challenges daily from the People's Republic of China which tries to occupy and illegally assert its presence over our territory and especially our exclusive economic zone," he stated.
He noted that Manila has been compelled to forge stronger security partnerships and alliances to counter these pressures.
"We live in a very interconnected world, and there is no right for any state of that matter to appropriate an international common for its exclusive use or right, contrary to what the international norms clearly state," Teodoro concluded.
The South China Sea continues to serve as a primary geopolitical flashpoint between Manila and Beijing, with both governments frequently accusing each other of violating sovereign rights across disputed maritime expanses. While Manila anchors its legal strategy on the 2016 arbitration outcome, Beijing continues to invalidate the ruling.