MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday thanked Australia, Manila's "close partner", for "upholding international law" following its rejection of Beijing's territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea.
The Philippine leader also thanked Australia for "its formal manifestation before the United Nations affirming the Arbitral Award on the South China Sea issue," referring to the 2016 ruling that junked Beijing's "historic rights" to the resource-rich waterway. In the same virtual conference, the 15 Asia-Pacific economies, including Australia and the Philippines signed the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Partnership Agreement , possibly the world's largest free trade agreement.
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