Beijing Tells Manila to 'Stop Lying' After Minister Exposes South China Sea Note The latest escalation in the ongoing dispute over the South China Sea has all the hallmarks of a carefully calibrated Chinese bid to intimidate and discredit its Philippine counterparts.
Last week, Filipino Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. publicly read out parts of a handwritten note from Beijing rejecting the 2016 arbitration ruling that denied most of China's claims in the region.
The memo itself is hardly surprising – it has been Beijing's stance all along that the award was "illegal and void.