Philippines Defence Secretary Teodoro hits out at China after being handed over a note mid-speech
Philippines Defence Secretary Gilberto C Teodoro on Wednesday publicly lashed out at China after he was handed a note outlining Beijing’s position on the South China Sea while he was speaking at a defence forum in South Korea. The unexpected move China prompted Philippines Defence Secretary to question China’s motive and accuse Beijing of “coercion, bullying and aggression”.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, a man wearing a white sports coat was seen approaching Teodoro from behind and placing a sheet of paper on the table beside him at the Seoul Defence Dialogue.
Note came from a Chinese military attache
As per the forum organisers, the note came from a Chinese military attache with the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported.
The attache handed the paper slip to a staff member and asked that it be passed on to Teodoro. The staff member then mistook it for a message from Teodoro’s own delegation and delivered it to him while he was speaking, according to Yonhap.
After receiving the paper slip, Teodoro paused his remarks, picked up the note and told the audience, “I have a note here, I think this is from China. And may I read it?”
‘China’s position on South China Sea arbitration was clear, consistent and firm’
He then read the contents a loud voice, saying the note said China’s position on the South China Sea arbitration was “clear, consistent and firm” and that the 2016 arbitration violated “fundamental principles of international law”.
It should be noted that the note appeared to have reference to the 2016 South China Sea Arbitration case brought by the Philippines against China under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Later, the Chinese Foreign Ministry reacted to the incident, saying it did not know the details of the situation but stated that Beijing’s position on the South China Sea arbitration case was “clear and consistent”.
In the meantime, the UNCLOS rejected China’s expansive historic-rights claims in the South China Sea, ruling there was no legal basis for Beijing’s claims to resources within the Philippines’s exclusive economic zone. On the other side, China also rejected the ruling and said the tribunal had no jurisdiction.
Teodoro calls out China
Just after reading the note, Teodoro questioned why such a message had been delivered to him during his address and asked, how can you deal with a country in an international forum, beyond the question asked me – disrespecting the organisers of this forum. How do you expect to deal with it civilly?” he asked while addressing the gathering.
He further stated that the manner in which the note was delivered was disrespectful not only to him but also to South Korea, which hosted the event, and the other participants.
Furthermore, Teodoro accused China of coercion and aggression and said perhaps basic decency and behaviour is what China needs to do and this is actual coercion, bullying and aggression.The defence chief went on to say that he 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.
