Foreign Affairs

Philippine Defense Chief Torches China After Beijing Sends Him Note Mid-Speech: ‘You Lost’

[Wikimedia Commons/Public/Donghae Fang]

The Philippines’ defense secretary publicly tore into China on Tuesday after a Chinese military attaché sent him a note while he was mid-speech at an international defense forum in Seoul.

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro was discussing maritime security and international law at the Seoul Defense Dialogue when a staff member handed him the note, which challenged a landmark 2016 arbitration ruling involving China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea, according to an X post from the Philippines Department of National Defense. The note came from a military attaché at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul who asked a forum employee to deliver it to Teodoro, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing forum organizers.

“Is this the right paper to post to me when I am being asked a question on the floor?” Teodoro said after reading the note aloud. “And how will you treat this kind of behavior? It not only disrespects, shows, if this is a Chinese position sent to me, it not only disrespects international law, throwing UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) to the floor and trampling upon it, but it also disrespects the basic decency that should be accorded to our most gracious hosts, the Republic of Korea.”

Philippine Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China claims vast portions of the South China Sea and has spent years expanding and militarizing disputed features, including building artificial islands equipped with airstrips, radar systems and other military infrastructure. Beijing has also repeatedly clashed with the Philippines over contested waters and shoals, including Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal.

The staff member reportedly believed the message had come from Teodoro’s own delegation and handed it to him while he was speaking, according to Yonhap.

“China’s position on the ‘South China Sea arbitration’ has been clear, consistent and firm,” Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Chang told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The ‘arbitration’ violates fundamental principles of international law, including state consent and pacta sunt servanda, contravenes UNCLOS itself, and, still more importantly, runs counter to the basic facts of the South China Sea.”

Teodoro proceeded to read through Beijing’s arguments and rebut them in front of the audience. The note argued that the arbitration violated international law and maintained that the resulting award had no binding force.

The ruling stemmed from a case brought by the Philippines challenging China’s sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea. An arbitral tribunal constituted under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea concluded in 2016 that Beijing had no legal basis to claim historic rights to resources within areas falling inside its so-called “nine-dash line” beyond the maritime entitlements allowed under UNCLOS, according to the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

China has refused to recognize the ruling and argues that the tribunal lacked jurisdiction over the dispute. Beijing reiterated in July that the decision is illegal, null and void and has no binding force, according to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Of course, because you lost,” Teodoro responded after reading that Beijing neither accepts nor recognizes the 2016 arbitration.

Teodoro then held up the note and accused Beijing of abandoning international norms in its efforts to press its maritime claims.

“This is not a gray zone anymore. This is actual coercion, bullying and aggression,” Teodoro said, according to the video.

Teodoro finished the exchange by sarcastically thanking the Chinese official responsible for the note and expressing hope that the official would not end up in a Chinese “gulag” over the episode.

“The so-called ‘award’ is nothing but a worthless piece of paper that is illegal, null and void, and has no binding force,” Chang told the DCNF. “China does not accept or recognize the ‘award,’ and opposes and does not accept any claim or action based on it. China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea shall not be affected by the ‘award’ under any circumstances.”

The public confrontation comes after months of heightened tensions between Manila and Beijing in the disputed waters.

The Philippine Coast Guard accused Chinese vessels in July of firing water cannons at Philippine government ships near Scarborough Shoal for a second consecutive day, marking the third confrontation between the two countries in roughly a week, Reuters reported, citing the Philippine Coast Guard. Beijing said its coast guard had taken control measures against Philippine vessels it accused of illegally entering the area, according to the outlet.

Another confrontation at Second Thomas Shoal that month left a Filipino sailor injured after Philippine officials accused Chinese coast guard personnel of attacking him with a wooden baton, the Associated Press reported, citing the Philippine military. China accused Philippine personnel of ramming one of its boats and attacking Chinese personnel with oars and sticks, according to AP.

Manila has simultaneously deepened military cooperation with Washington as tensions with Beijing have increased.

American and Philippine forces conducted a nearly week-long maritime exercise inside the Philippine exclusive economic zone in June aimed at improving interoperability between the two militaries, according to the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Teodoro also reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening deterrence in the South China Sea during a May meeting, while Washington announced plans to provide Manila with a decommissioned U.S. Coast Guard cutter, according to the Department of War.

“China is consistently committed to upholding peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and hopes that relevant countries will also play a positive role in this regard,” Chang told the DCNF. “China urges the relevant countries to earnestly respect China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, stop stirring up trouble over the South China Sea issue, and cease undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea.”

Teodoro said Monday that Washington has assured Manila that U.S. commitments under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty remain unchanged, Reuters reported.