China tells Teodoro: Cut the provocations and theatrics

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has dismissed Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto "Gibo" Teodoro's viral rebuttal of Beijing's stance on the West Philippine Sea, urging him to "cut the provocations and theatrics." Mao Ning, spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry, stated that the Philippines unilaterally initiated the arbitration case, which she described as a distortion and abuse of the UNCLOS dispute settlement mechanism. She asserted that it is the Philippine side that has violated UNCLOS and undermined its integrity and authority. "We urge the certain individual of the Philippine side to cut the provocations and theatrics, and stop undermining China-Philippines relations and stability in the South China Sea," Mao added. Her statement was posted by the Chinese Embassy in Manila. This exchange followed Teodoro's strong criticism of China's expansive claims in the South China Sea after he received an unsigned note, purportedly from Chinese representatives, while speaking at a defense and security forum in Seoul, South Korea. The note dismissed Manila's claims over the West Philippine Sea. Teodoro then answered the stance point by point. "'The so-called award is illegal, null and void.' So say you. ‘And has no binding force.’ Because you don't want to be subjected to UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea)," Teodoro said. The Defense Secretary then questioned why he was handed that paper mid-statement, calling it disrespectful to the South Korean hosts. Teodoro called the gesture from China rude, asking how one could deal with such behavior. He added that it was also disrespectful to the host. "How do you expect to deal with it civilly? I ask you the question: Is this the right paper to pose to me when I am being asked a question on the floor? And how will you treat this kind of behavior?" Teodoro said. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) stated that it respects Secretary Teodoro's views but declined to comment further. DFA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Analyn Ratonel said in a press conference on Wednesday, "We respect the statement and views of Secretary Teodoro. Other than that, I do not wish to further comment." The Philippines won its claim over the West Philippine Sea in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016. Despite this ruling, Chinese vessels have continued to assert claims over Philippine waters, with incidents including water cannon attacks on Philippine vessels that have injured Filipino crewmen on several occasions. —VAL, GMA News