China Hits Back at Philippines Defense Chief Over South China Sea Ruling

China's Foreign Ministry has told Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. to cease his "provocations and theatrics" after he publicly rebuked Beijing's position on the South China Sea arbitration in Seoul, South Korea. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated on Wednesday, September 9, that while she was not familiar with the specifics of the incident, she reiterated China's rejection of the 2016 arbitral ruling. "China’s position has always been clear on the so-called 'South China Sea arbitration,'" Mao said in a statement posted on the Facebook page of the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines. Mao accused the Philippines of "unilaterally initiating the case," calling it a "distortion and abuse" of the dispute settlement mechanism under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). "It is the Philippine side who has violated UNCLOS and undermined its integrity and authority," she added. "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's remarks followed Teodoro's receipt of a handwritten note from a Chinese official while answering a question on the South China Sea at the Seoul Defense Dialogue. The note, reportedly from the defense attaché of the Chinese embassy in Seoul, reiterated Beijing's stance that the 2016 arbitration was "illegal, null and void." Teodoro read portions of the note onstage and directly responded. When the note stated China "neither accepted nor recognized" the ruling, Teodoro retorted, "Of course, because you lost." He also questioned the appropriateness of handing him the note while he was speaking, asking, "How can you deal with a country in an international forum, beyond the question asked to me, disrespecting the organizers of this forum, how do you expect to deal with it civilly?" The Philippines initiated its case against China before an arbitral tribunal under UNCLOS in 2013. The tribunal ruled in 2016 that China lacked a legal basis for its claims to historic rights within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. China has consistently rejected this ruling. This exchange occurs amid ongoing tensions between Manila and Beijing over the South China Sea. In June, China imposed sanctions on Teodoro and his family, barring them from entering mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, and prohibiting Chinese entities from conducting transactions with them. — with a report from Cristina Chi