What did Gilberto Teodoro say at the Seoul Defense Dialogue after receiving the China note on the South China Sea?

Teodoro read the note aloud and answered each point with sharp retorts. He said China’s stance was desperate and ineffective, and accused it of lacking basic decency and disrespecting international law.

Why was the note to Gilberto Teodoro at the Seoul forum controversial?

The note defended Beijing’s rejection of a 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling that upheld Manila’s maritime claims and invalidated China’s nine-dash line claims beyond its territory. Teodoro argued that the ruling was final and binding under UNCLOS.

Who sent the audience note to the Philippine defense chief in Seoul?

Forum organizers said it came from a Chinese military attache with the Chinese Embassy in Seoul. The attache handed it to a staff member and asked that it be passed to Teodoro during his remarks.

Philippine defense chief slams China over audience note on South China Sea at Seoul forum

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Summary

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro lashed out at China at the Seoul Defense Dialogue on Tuesday after a forum audience note defended Beijing’s rejection of a 2016 tribunal ruling on the South China Sea. He read the note aloud and responded sharply to claims that UNCLOS violated international law and that the PCA award had no binding force. Teodoro called China’s stance desperate and ineffective, and accused Beijing of coercion, bullying and aggression.

Key Facts

The note came from a Chinese military attache with the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, according to forum organizers.
The note defended China’s rejection of the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling that invalidated its nine-dash line claims beyond its territory in the South China Sea.
Teodoro said the PCA ruling was final and legally binding under UNCLOS.
He said China continued to build artificial islands around the Spratly Islands and interfered with the Philippines’ maritime activities.

By Yonhap

Published Sep 8, 2026 3:28 pm KST
Updated Sep 8, 2026 5:21 pm KST

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro speaks during a panel session at the Seoul Defense Dialogue at The Grand Lotte Seoul hotel in Seoul, Tuesday. Captured from the Seoul Defense Dialogue 2026 YouTube livestream

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro lashed out at China during a Seoul defense forum Tuesday after receiving an audience note defending Beijing's rejection of a 2016 international tribunal ruling upholding Manila's maritime claims in the South China Sea.

Teodoro was addressing maritime challenges facing his country and the importance of compliance with the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) during a panel discussion at the Seoul Defense Dialogue when a forum staff member passed him a note from the audience.

Pausing his remarks, Teodoro read the note aloud to the room, which asserted Beijing's stance against the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruling that invalidated China's "nine-dash line" claims beyond its territory in the South China Sea and reaffirmed the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone.

Although the PCA ruling was final and legally binding under UNCLOS, China has rejected the decision as "null and void" and continued to build artificial islands around the Spratly Islands and interfered with the Philippines' maritime activities.

The secretary read the slip line by line and offered sharp retorts to each point. When the note claimed that arbitration violated fundamental international law, he shot back, "So what you're saying is UNCLOS violates international law? That's what you mean."

Reading the part where it read the PCA award has "no binding force," he said, "Because you don't want to be subjected to UNCLOS," and to that Beijing "neither accepts nor recognizes" the ruling, with Teodoro quipping, "Of course, because you lost."

Teodoro then held up the slip of paper to the room, denouncing the gesture as a display of China's "desperate and ineffective" stance, accusing Beijing of a complete lack of "basic decency" and utter disrespect for international law.

"Perhaps basic decency and behavior are what China needs," he said, drawing applause from the audience. "This is not a gray zone anymore. This is actual coercion, bullying and aggression."

The note came from a Chinese military attache with the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, according to forum organizers.

The attache handed the slip to a staff member and asked that it be passed to the secretary. The staff member mistook it for a message from Teodoro's own delegation and delivered it directly to him while he was speaking.

Teodoro landed a biting jab at the official who handed over the note.

"You've just done your country a great service. Thank you, and I hope you don't suffer in a gulag for it."

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