By El Amigo
MANILA — A think tank has commended Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. for directly confronting China’s rejection of the 2016 South China Sea arbitral ruling, saying his actions demonstrated the kind of resolve expected from Philippine officials.
Stratbase Institute president Victor Andres Manhit said Teodoro’s exchange with a Chinese military representative at the Seoul Defense Dialogue on Tuesday showed the importance of standing firm when Philippine sovereignty and international law are questioned.
While Teodoro was delivering his remarks, a military attaché from the Chinese Embassy in Seoul sent him a note through a forum staff member.
The message repeated Beijing’s long-standing position that the 2016 arbitral ruling was illegal, null and void, and carried no binding effect.
Rather than ignore the challenge, Teodoro read parts of the note before the audience and disputed its claims, including China’s outright rejection of the tribunal’s decision.
For Manhit, the incident illustrated that protecting Philippine interests requires more than diplomatic statements.
“Secretary Teodoro demonstrated the steadfast resolve required to counter coercion, intimidation and attempts to erode established international norms,” he said.
The arbitral tribunal, constituted under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, ruled in 2016 that China had no legal basis for its sweeping claim to historic rights within the nine-dash line. The decision also affirmed the Philippines’ maritime entitlements.
Manhit said the government should maintain a united position in defending those rights, describing Teodoro’s response as an example that other public officials should emulate.
He said such firmness should be the “baseline expectation for all public officials charged with safeguarding the republic.”
