China has truly embarrassed itself on the international stage this time. On Tuesday (September 8), Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro was attending a security forum in Seoul, South Korea, when a Chinese representative bypassed proper procedure and passed a note directly to Teodoro. The move not only failed, it backfired spectacularly — Teodoro seized on it and publicly tore into the Chinese side on stage, rejecting Beijing’s denial of the South China Sea arbitration ruling and bluntly mocking China in front of the entire audience, saying it should “have some shame.”
Teodoro was speaking at the plenary session of the Seoul Defense Dialogue on Tuesday about the maritime threats facing the Philippines and the importance of upholding the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Midway through, a staff member suddenly handed him a note. Teodoro paused his remarks, looked at it, and said, “This appears to be a note from China,” before reading its contents aloud.
According to South Korean outlet Chosun Ilbo, the note was not delivered directly by a representative on site. Instead, a defense attaché from the Chinese Embassy in South Korea first handed the note to forum staff and asked them to pass it to Teodoro. The staff member, mistaking it for a message from Teodoro’s own delegation, handed him the note during his speech.
The incident came as tensions in the South China Sea continue to escalate. The Philippine military confirmed that a patrol aircraft was driven away and locked onto by targeting systems of Chinese military aircraft near Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal). Manila condemned the action and stressed it will continue its patrol missions.
The note stated that China considers the 2016 Hague arbitration ruling on the South China Sea to be “in violation of the basic principles of international law” and “illegal, null and void, and of no legal effect.” Teodoro fired back forcefully on the spot, emphasizing that the Philippines, as an archipelagic state as defined under UNCLOS, has its territorial integrity protected by international law and will never compromise on sovereignty.
Teodoro then showed the Chinese side no courtesy at all, snapping, “Because you lost.” He slammed China’s act of passing a note to interrupt his speech as crude and disrespectful, questioning whether Beijing was attempting an “ambush on stage.” “Is it appropriate to hand me such a document while I am on stage answering questions?” he asked. He went further, saying that if the note represented China’s position, it proved that China is not only trampling on international law and UNCLOS, but also showing gross disrespect to host nation South Korea and everyone in attendance.
Finally, Teodoro even switched to Filipino to blast China, telling it to learn some basic courtesy: “Show some manners, have some shame.”
MAHIYA NAMAN KAYO | Secretary of National Defense Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. responded to a note from the Chinese side during the Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD) 2026 in Seoul, Republic of Korea.#DNDPHL #DiKaPasisiil #SDD2026 pic.twitter.com/fsCRVphkgf
— Department of National Defense – Philippines (@dndphl) September 8, 2026
