Gibo snubs China at ADMM-Plus

China made its lowest-level representation yet at an ADMM-Plus meeting, sending Senior Captain Yang Lei, its defense attaché in Manila, rather than Defense Minister Dong Jun. The choice stood out because the Philippines was hosting the meeting and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. had just welcomed senior representatives from ASEAN and its partners. The episode exposed the strain in bilateral relations.

The formal welcome followed the usual diplomatic ritual. A camera captured Yang walking down a short red carpet, shaking hands, and pausing for photographs. But Teodoro did not greet him. Undersecretary Ignacio Madriaga, who had signed the invitation letter, represented the Philippines instead. Madriaga regularly represents Manila at senior officials’ meetings, while Yang is a senior captain.

China’s Global Times called the attendance a downgrade attributable to the Philippines. The decision came after Beijing sanctioned Teodoro and his immediate family in June 2026. It may make future defense dialogue more cautious, while leaving both countries inside the same regional forum.

The ADMM-Plus is the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus, a multilateral forum where ASEAN defense ministers meet defense ministers or senior representatives from partner countries. The article calls it ASEAN’s premiere platform for defense diplomacy. Its importance comes from keeping military and defense officials talking through a regional process, even when individual countries face serious disagreements.

The meeting brings together officials from ASEAN and its partners. At the Philippine-hosted session, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. welcomed representatives including deputy ministers ranked below him. The forum also requires a host to invite participating countries, even when bilateral disputes make the invitation uncomfortable. That practice protects the meeting’s regional character.

Teodoro said cooperation must rest on mutual respect and international law. He cited the United Nations Charter, the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea, sovereignty, territorial integrity, non-interference, peaceful dispute settlement, and rejection of force. The forum therefore combines practical defense contact with shared principles.

ADMM-Plus includes the 10 ASEAN member states and eight partner countries, making 18 participating countries in total. The article does not state this membership figure directly, but this is the established structure of the forum. It describes ADMM-Plus as ASEAN’s premiere platform for defense diplomacy and refers to ASEAN members and dialogue partners sharing regional principles.

Its broad role is visible in the Philippine meeting. Defense ministers, deputy ministers, and other senior officials gathered for a regional defense event. The host was expected to invite every participating country, even when bilateral tensions made attendance awkward. This mechanism keeps the forum inclusive and prevents one dispute from automatically removing a country from regional defense discussions.

The meeting addresses more than military relationships between two governments. Teodoro linked cooperation to sovereignty, territorial integrity, non-interference, peaceful settlement, and international law. China’s reduced representation showed that the forum can preserve contact while also revealing how sharply political tensions affect security diplomacy.

China’s participation became awkward because Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. was under Chinese sanctions when Manila hosted the ADMM-Plus meeting. In June 2026, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sanctioned Teodoro and his immediate family. It accused him of repeatedly making irresponsible remarks that undermined China’s legitimate interests and damaged bilateral relations.

Teodoro had also been one of Beijing’s loudest critics in the Philippine government. He had warned defense officials that China was not trustworthy in negotiations over a South China Sea code. China’s ambassador, Jing Quan, was later summoned and criticized after saying the Philippines should be thankful China did not use force in disputes.

The event required Manila to invite China despite these tensions. Teodoro said an invitation had been sent, but Undersecretary Ignacio Madriaga signed it. China then sent Senior Captain Yang Lei, not Defense Minister Dong Jun. That arrangement avoided a direct Teodoro-Dong encounter, but made the diplomatic downgrade highly visible.

China’s low-level representation signaled that its defense relationship with Manila had become unusually strained. Beijing sent Senior Captain Yang Lei, its defense attaché in Manila, rather than Defense Minister Dong Jun. The Global Times described this as China’s lowest-level representation at ADMM-Plus since the inaugural session in 2010 and attributed it to the Philippines.

The mechanism was diplomatic signaling. Senior officials’ attendance normally gives a meeting greater political weight and creates opportunities for direct contact. Sending an embassy-based defense attaché reduced that senior-level engagement. It also avoided placing China’s defense minister in a room hosted by Teodoro, whom Beijing had sanctioned. Yet China did not withdraw entirely, and Manila still extended the required invitation.

The immediate consequence is a visible cooling of defense diplomacy. Communication has not ended, because both sides remain connected through the regional forum. Future meetings could face more rank disputes, guarded exchanges, or reduced cooperation if maritime tensions and public accusations continue.

The Philippines and China dispute parts of the South China Sea because China claims almost the entire sea, while the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries hold overlapping claims. The article presents these competing claims as the basic source of the conflict. For Manila, the dispute has meant facing danger and harassment at sea in certain areas and features.

The confrontations involve vessels operating around contested waters and features. The article also describes danger for Beijing: two China Coast Guard personnel died in a collision with their own warship. It does not provide further details about that incident, but it shows that maritime operations can create serious risks even for the claimant conducting them.

These incidents feed the wider political confrontation. Teodoro has repeatedly criticized Beijing and called for international law to guide cooperation. China has responded with public warnings, sanctions, and reduced representation at a regional defense meeting. Continued encounters could further damage trust and complicate security cooperation.

Sovereignty is a country’s authority to govern itself and control its territory. Territorial integrity means respecting the country’s existing territory and borders rather than taking or violating them. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, is the international treaty that sets rules for maritime zones, rights, and duties at sea. The article identifies the 1982 convention as a foundation for cooperation.

Teodoro said ASEAN members and dialogue partners should respect sovereignty and territorial integrity, avoid interference in internal affairs, settle disputes peacefully, and reject the threat or use of force. These principles do not erase competing claims. They establish standards for how countries should pursue and manage them.

In the South China Sea, China’s broad claim overlaps with claims by the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries. The disputes have brought harassment and dangerous maritime incidents. Applying UNCLOS and the wider principles would mean addressing claims through law and peaceful processes rather than coercion, while preserving regional defense dialogue.