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China's 'wolf diplomacy' vs Philippine resistance: Drama unfolds in Seoul event
The Philippine defence secretary paused mid-speech, reading a Chinese note handed to him line by line and retorting to each point.
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Dramatic scenes unfolded at Seoul Defence Dialogue on Tuesday when what is widely known as Chinese "wolf warrior diplomacy"—a confrontational and aggressive posture adopted by Beijing's officials and state-run media—ran into stiff Philippine resistance.
It all began when Philippine defence secretary Gilberto Teodoro was speaking on stage at South Korea's flagship multilateral security forum hosted by its defence ministry. When Teodoro was mid-speech discussing the Philippines's maritime challenges, an event staffer passed him a note from the audience, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
The note reportedly came from a military attaché at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul who reiterated Beijing's position on the South China Sea, especially regarding an arbitration court's 2016 verdict that ruled in favour of the Philippines in a dispute involving China.
Such interventions by Chinese officials are not new, though. It is this aggressive brand of diplomacy and public posturing that is now known as "wolf warrior diplomacy" or "wolf diplomacy". It could entail combative countering of criticism against China and even sharp rebukes directed at foreign officials and journalists questioning Beijing's stance on several controversial issues such as human rights violations and sea and land border disputes that the Chinese side finds itself embroiled in.
In 2005, Pranab Mukherjee, then defence minister who would go on to become the Indian president, cited the differences between India and China on the border front at a Mumbai event. Chinese consul general Song De Heng, who was present there, objected to being called an "invader," sparking a spat. In his sharp, on-the-spot rebuttal, the Chinese official questioned Mukherjee's remarks that China had settled its border disputes with every neighbour except India and Bhutan, and asked whether the sticking point was China's inflexibility or India's.
Since then, Chinese officials have time and again taken an aggressive stance in issuing verbal ripostes to India's legitimate concerns in disputed matters, including the border.
Events on-stage in Seoul on Tuesday escalated quickly.
Teodoro, the Philippines's defence secretary, paused his remarks and read out the Chinese note aloud, line by line. The note "asserted Beijing's stance against the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruling that invalidated" certain Chinese claims beyond its territory in the South China Sea and reaffirmed the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone, Yonhap reported.
The ruling was final and legally binding under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the treaty that governs maritime boundaries, territorial waters and exclusive economic zones, the news agency said. However, China has rejected the decision as "null and void".
China and the Philippines have clashed repeatedly over the South China Sea; their disputes centred on contested reefs and shoals within Manila's exclusive economic zone. This year, confrontations have escalated beyond words, with Chinese coast guard vessels using water cannons against Philippine ships. In one instance, a Filipino sailor was injured after Chinese personnel allegedly attacked him with a wooden baton.
At the defence conclave, Teodoro retorted to each point mentioned in the note allegedly sent by the Chinese defence attaché. According to Yonhap, when the note claimed that arbitration in 2016 violated fundamental international law, he said, "So what you're saying is UNCLOS violates international law? That's what you mean."
To the part that Beijing "neither accepts nor recognises" the ruling, Teodoro said: "Of course, because you lost."
Yonhap said he then held up the slip of paper to the room, describing the gesture as a "desperate and ineffective" stance by China, which he accused of a complete lack of "basic decency" and utter disrespect for international law.
"This is not a gray zone anymore. This is actual coercion, bullying and aggression," he said, drawing applause from the crowd.
