Philippine Defense Chief Publicly Rebukes China Over Note Handed on Stage
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. received a note outlining Beijing's stance on the South China Sea while speaking at a conference in Seoul, prompting a sharp public rebuke.
A tense incident occurred on Tuesday at the Defense Dialogue conference in Seoul, when a document outlining China's position in the maritime dispute with the Philippines was handed to Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. while he was speaking on stage.
Confrontation on Stage
Teodoro was participating in a panel discussion on "gray-zone coercion" in the South China Sea—a term describing coercive actions that fall short of military conflict—when a conference staff member placed a document on the table next to the minister. Teodoro is known as one of the most vocal critics of Beijing's conduct in the disputed maritime territory, where the two countries' coast guards have repeatedly clashed.
"I have a note here, I think it's from China," said Teodoro, describing the document as outlining Beijing's stance on the South China Sea.
Reading the document line by line, Teodoro responded verbally to each point. He then slammed what he described as a Chinese attempt to influence his remarks.
Public Rebuke and Response
"This is no longer a gray zone," Teodoro stated. "Perhaps basic decency and proper behavior are the things that China should do," he added, earning applause from the audience. He then addressed China in Tagalog, the local language of the Philippines: "Shame on you."
According to the South Korean news agency Yonhap, the document was written by a military attaché at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul. The report stated that a conference employee mistakenly thought the note came from the Philippine delegation and handed it to Teodoro while he was at the podium.
According to Teodoro, the document stated that China does not accept or recognize a ruling issued under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which recognizes Philippine claims over parts of the disputed waters.
"I will keep this document as a souvenir of how desperate China is and how ineffective its position is in front of a free audience," the Philippine Defense Secretary said. He added: "Thank you very much to the person who gave me this piece of paper. You just did your country a great service. Thank you. And I hope you don't suffer in the Gulag because of it."
This is not the first time Teodoro has publicly clashed with Chinese representatives. At the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in 2025, he criticized Beijing for what he termed "propaganda speeches disguised as questions" during a tense exchange with Chinese officials.
China imposed sanctions on Teodoro earlier in 2026, accusing him of making statements that harmed bilateral relations and escalated tensions in an already strained relationship over territorial disputes. Teodoro is the highest-ranking Philippine official known to have been targeted by Beijing's sanctions.
