New Delhi: A note handed to Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro during a security conference in Seoul turned into a public exchange over China’s position on the South China Sea.
Known as the South China Sea Arbitration, the case was decided in 2016.
“I have a note and I believe it is from China,” he said. This arbitration violates the basic principles of international law,” he said. And how would you deal with this kind of behaviour?” he said. He said the conduct went beyond the maritime dispute and involved basic protocol at an international gathering. Teodoro said.
Teodoro immediately challenged the statement. “It has no position. It is a long-standing legal dispute that began when the Philippines took China to arbitration under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The tribunal rejected several aspects of Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea and ruled that activities such as land reclamation had violated Philippines’ maritime rights. “I ask you, China, is it right to send me this piece of paper while I am being questioned at this event? “If this is the Chinese position sent to me, it is not only disrespectful to international law. It is like throwing UNCLOS on the ground and trampling on it. It also shows a lack of basic courtesy towards our hosts, the Republic of Korea, and everyone present here.
