New Delhi: The Philippines’ defence secretary Gilberto Teodoro hit out at China Tuesday after a Chinese diplomat handed him a note while he was speaking at a defence forum in Seoul. Teodoro slammed the note as one “disrespecting” the organisers of the forum, while further calling on Beijing to “have some shame”.
Teodoro was speaking on maritime challenges his country is facing when he was handed the note.
“I have a note here, I think this is from China. And may I read it. ‘China’s position on the South China Sea arbitration is clear, consistent and firm.’ They have no position. ‘The arbitration violates fundamental principles of international law’,” he read out.
Teodoro was referring to the landmark arbitration case that Manila brought before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague more than a decade ago over China’s claim of control over the South China Sea based on the “nine-dash line”.
The tribunal ruled that China’s claim had no legal basis under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the legal framework for maritime activities which came into force over three decades ago. China has ratified the treaty.
The Philippine Defence Secretary responded to the note almost line by line as he read it aloud. “So what you signed—UNCLOS—you mean violates international law. ‘The so-called award is illegal, null and void.’ So say you. ‘And has no binding force’, because you do not want to be subjected to UNCLOS.”
Teodoro was more categorical in highlighting that China would not accept the award “because it lost” the case.
Relations between the two countries have remained fraught with tension as the Philippine Navy and the Chinese Coast Guard have had numerous skirmishes in the South China Sea in the last couple of years. India in 2024 backed Manila’s arbitration award, calling for all countries to respect the UNCLOS and the subsequent ruling by the Court of Arbitration.
“These are words that slipped to me…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? Is this the right paper to pose to me when I am being asked a question on the floor?” said Teodoro.
He added: “Perhaps basic decency and behaviour is what China needs to do.”
MAHIYA NAMAN KAYO | Secretary of National Defense Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. responded to a note from the Chinese side during the Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD) 2026 in Seoul, Republic of Korea.#DNDPHL #DiKaPasisiil #SDD2026 pic.twitter.com/fsCRVphkgf
— Department of National Defense – Philippines (@dndphl) September 8, 2026
Teodoro further asserted that he will keep the note as a “memento of how desperate China is” and how “ineffective its position” is in the face of the audience.
Despite the issues, Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is likely to interact with Chinese President Xi Jinping in New Delhi this week during the BRICS Summit. Manila has been invited as its current role chairing the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Marcos Jr. is expected to take part in the larger outreach summit likely to be held on Sunday.
President Xi is likely to attend the BRICS Summit, marking his first visit to India in seven years. Ties between India and China have seen a thaw following the border skirmishes in 2020.
(Edited by Prakhar Agrawal)