China accused the Philippines of "stirring up trouble" after Philippine Defense Minister Gilberto Teodoro Jr. criticized Beijing's actions in the South China Sea during a defense forum in South Korea. Teodoro emphasized the importance of upholding a 2016 arbitration ruling that found China's territorial claims in the region to be without legal basis. During the event, he received a note reportedly from China, which stated that Beijing "neither accepts nor recognizes" the arbitration ruling. Teodoro responded by saying, "Of course, because you lost," and called on China to show "a little bit of decency, have a little bit of shame," arguing that the note was disrespectful to the forum and to international law. Chinese officials participated in the Seoul Defense Dialogue forum, but they were not given speaking roles or panelist positions. The source of the note was not identified. In response to questions about the incident, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said she was not aware of the "specific situation" but reiterated that China's stance on the South China Sea arbitration case has been "clear and consistent." She urged the Philippines to "stop seeking attention and stirring up trouble" and to stop undermining bilateral relations and regional stability. China did not participate in the arbitration initiated by the Philippines in 2013, which followed a tense standoff in the disputed waters. A tribunal under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ruled in 2016 that China's claims in the South China Sea were illegal. China rejected the ruling and continues to assert its claims over nearly the entire sea passage, a critical global trade route and one of Asia's most contentious regions. In July, the U.S., Britain, and a dozen other Western and Asian countries reaffirmed that China's claims in the South China Sea were illegal, citing the 2016 ruling. The South China Sea has seen repeated territorial disputes involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan. Recently, the Philippine military accused China's coast guard of injuring a Filipino sailor at a disputed shoal. The military claimed that Chinese coast guard personnel struck the sailor with a wooden baton and damaged his vessel. China denied the allegations, stating that two rubber boats from an "illegally" stationed Filipino vessel had collided with its boat. Teodoro called the incident "not gray zone anymore, this is actual coercion, bullying and aggression," and said he would keep the note as a reminder of "how desperate China is and how ineffective its position is in the face of a free audience."