China and Philippines clash over South China Sea arbitration ruling

A public exchange at a defense forum in Seoul has escalated into a fresh war of words between China and the Philippines over long-standing maritime disputes in the South China Sea.

Philippine Defense Minister Gilberto Teodoro Jr. was addressing the Seoul Defense Dialogue on Tuesday, urging respect for a 2016 international arbitration ruling that rejected China's expansive claims in the waterway. Mid-speech, an unidentified person approached the stage and handed him a note, which Teodoro said came from China.

Reading from the paper, the minister said it stated that "China neither accepts nor recognizes" the arbitration decision. He then looked up and told the audience, "Of course, because you lost." Teodoro added that the note showed a lack of "decency" and "shame," and called it disrespectful to the forum and to international law.

Chinese representatives attended the forum but were not listed as speakers or panelists. It remains unclear who delivered the note.

Asked in Beijing about the incident, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said she was unaware of the "specific situation" but reiterated China's "clear and consistent" stance on the arbitration case. She urged "relevant people in the Philippines to stop seeking attention and stirring up trouble," and to avoid harming bilateral ties and regional stability.

The arbitration case dates to 2013, when the Philippines initiated proceedings after a standoff at a disputed shoal that ended with Beijing effectively taking control. China refused to participate, and a tribunal under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ruled in 2016 that Beijing's claims were illegal. China has rejected the ruling and continues to assert control over nearly the entire sea, a vital trade route and a persistent flashpoint.

In July, the United States, Britain, and a dozen other nations issued a joint statement backing the 2016 ruling. The region has seen repeated confrontations involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan.

In one recent incident, the Philippine military accused Chinese coast guard personnel of striking a Filipino sailor with a wooden baton at a disputed shoal. China countered that two rubber boats from an "illegally" stationed Filipino vessel had rammed a Chinese boat.

Teodoro described such actions as "actual coercion, bullying and aggression," adding that he would keep the note "as a memento of how desperate China is and how ineffective its position is in the face of a free audience."