Post

A Chinese official attempted some of that Wolf Warrior Diplomacy ™ shit. It did not go well. Philippines' Defence Minister Gilberto Teodoro was speaking up for smaller nations and international law at a forum in Korea when he was handed a note from a Chinese official, meant as intimidating.

China reiterated that it rejects a UN ruling on the South China Sea. “Of course, because you lost,” says Teodoro. “This is actual coercion, bullying & aggression. I will keep this paper as a memento of how desperate China is & how ineffective its position is in the face of a free audience.”

Teodoro is our kindred spirit. Because that’s exactly how you deal with this kind of modern day imperialist nonsense. Call it out. Don’t play by their game. Stubbornly stick to your values.

And now millions of people around the world have got to hear all this in what should have been a pretty dull regional forum heard by policy wonks. "Thank you,” Teodoro adds to the Chinese official, “and I hope you don't suffer in a gulag for it."