Manila, Sept. 9 -- Philippines Defence Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro publicly denounced Beijing after receiving an unexpected note outlining China's stance on the South China Sea while delivering an address at a defence conference in South Korea.

The incident unfolded during the Seoul Defence Dialogue when a man dressed in a white sports jacket approached Teodoro from behind and placed a document on the adjacent table. Forum organisers and South Korea's Yonhap News Agency indicated that the message originated from a Chinese military attache stationed at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul.

According to Yonhap, the attache passed the slip to a member of the event staff with instructions to hand it to Teodoro. The staff member mistakenly assumed...