Sen. Erwin Tulfo on Wednesday backed Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.’s rejection of a Chinese note handed to him during a defense forum in Seoul, calling the move improper and deserving of a firm response.
“Ay tama lang yun (That was just right). That’s the right thing to do,” Tulfo said in a chance interview.
Teodoro was speaking at the Seoul Defense Dialogue on Tuesday when a note defending China’s rejection of the 2016 arbitral ruling on the South China Sea was handed to him while he was answering a question.
Forum organizers traced the note to a Chinese military attaché at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul.
Teodoro read portions of the note aloud before rejecting Beijing’s position. He said China refuses to recognize the arbitral award because “you lost,” and described the act of handing him the note as “coercion, bullying and aggression.”
Tulfo said he considered the incident discourteous.
“Definitely, definitely. They shouldn’t have done that,” he said.
The senator said he would have responded similarly had he been in Teodoro’s position.
“Eh buti hindi ako kasama doon. Magkakaproblema po tayo (It’s a good thing I was not there. We would have had a problem),” Tulfo said.
He said Filipino officials should not allow similar actions to go unanswered, particularly during international forums where the country’s maritime position is being challenged.
“But I would really stand up,” Tulfo said.
The 2016 arbitral ruling rejected China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea and upheld the Philippines’ maritime entitlements. Beijing has repeatedly refused to recognize the decision.
Teodoro attended the Sept. 7 to 9 Seoul Defense Dialogue, where he also emphasized the importance of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to the Philippines as an archipelagic state.
Photo courtesy of PhilStar
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