VICE Admiral Alberto Carlos testified before the Senate that indeed he had a 'three to five minutes' phone conversation with Chinese Embassy military attaché Senior Col. Lee on Jan. 3, 2024. The Manila Times report on the testimony states that:

'Carlos said it was 'Col. Li (sic, Chinese Anglicized spelling is Lee, Li is Korean) who initiated the phone call... which focused on how to de-escalate tensions in the West Philippine Sea. However, he declined to discuss the matter publicly and will only reveal this in a closed meeting.