Philippines Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro accused China of “actual coercion, bullying and aggression” after he was handed a note during a plenary session at the Seoul Defence Dialogue 2026, where he was discussing international stability and the South China Sea dispute.
The note, reportedly written by a military attaché at the Chinese embassy in Seoul, reiterated Beijing’s rejection of the 2016 South China Sea arbitration ruling, which found that China’s expansive maritime claims had no legal basis under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Reading the note aloud, Teodoro responded: “Of course, because you lost,” before accusing China of attempting to “occupy and illegally assert its presence” within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
China later rejected Teodoro’s characterisation of the exchange. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning accused “certain individuals in the Philippines” of seeking attention and damaging bilateral relations and regional stability, while Beijing maintained that the 2016 ruling was invalid.
The South China Sea remains a major geopolitical flashpoint, with competing claims, maritime confrontations and growing security partnerships shaping wider regional tensions.
ℹ️ ROK Ministry of National Defence
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