Philippines Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. publicly denounced China’s actions as “coercion, bullying and aggression” after a note outlining Beijing’s stance on the South China Sea was delivered to him mid-speech at the Seoul Defense Dialogue. While addressing the forum in South Korea, Teodoro was interrupted by an individual who placed a note on his table, which he proceeded to read aloud, stating, “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.” Teodoro, visibly angered, questioned the appropriateness of such an action in an international forum, highlighting that it disrespected not only the organizers and the audience but also the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 arbitral ruling that favored the Philippines. He concluded by calling the incident a display of China’s desperation and ineffectiveness, vowing to keep the note as a “memento of how desperate China is and how ineffective its position is in the face of a free audience,” while reiterating the Philippines’ daily challenges with China’s attempts to illegally assert presence over its territory and exclusive economic zone, contrary to international norms.
Adapted from: Latest World News on Fox News
