China-Philippines relations took a fresh hit after Beijing warned Manila to stop "theatrics," following a top government official's sharp rebuke to China at a recent defense summit.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. read a note slipped to him from the Chinese side at the Seoul Defense Dialogue on Tuesday, stunning the audience, and adding a fresh irritant to China-Philippines relations already frayed over the South China Sea.
The message, handed to Teodoro mid-panel, laid out China's position on the 2016 South China Sea arbitration ruling, restating Beijing's rejection of the verdict that favored Manila.
Teodoro rebutted it on the spot, accusing Beijing of "coercion, bullying and aggression" in the South China Sea. The clip of his remarks went viral in the Philippines, while the reaction on Chinese social media was comparatively muted.
"It is one of the rarest occasions when the PRC government was openly rebutted in a public forum like this," said Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Koh described Teodoro's action as consistent with Manila's standing policy on the sea dispute, and his own "vocal, strident personality."