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.

But Teodoro just read it all out, eviscerated it line by line, and called the Chinese official out on their disrespect - both to international law and their Korean hosts.

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.”

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."

Every now and then the right person gets the right job and it’s glorious.