Philippines chief gets China's note mid-speech; his blunt reply stuns room
Philippines Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro publicly rebuked a Chinese representative at a Seoul forum after being handed a note regarding the South China Sea. Teodoro dismissed China's legal claims and criticized the delivery of the message as disrespectful.
Why it matters
The incident underscores the escalating diplomatic tensions between the Philippines and China over maritime sovereignty and international law.
NEW DELHI: Philippines defence secretary Gilberto C Teodoro publicly rebuked China at a defence forum in Seoul after a note outlining Beijing's position on the South China Sea arbitration was handed to him while he was speaking.Teodoro was addressing maritime challenges and the South China Sea at the Seoul Defence Dialogue when a man approached him from behind and placed a sheet of paper on the table. Teodoro paused, picked up the note and asked whether it had come from China before reading parts of it aloud. "I have a note here. I think this is from China. And may I read it?" he said.As Teodoro read the note, he interrupted its argument with a blunt response: "They have no position."
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