MANILA, Philippines — Japan and the Philippines have agreed to work closely together to maintain peace in the Asia-Pacific region even as Australia reaffirmed its “strong support” for the country’s 2016 arbitral victory over the West Philippine Sea.
During a summit teleconference with President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga “expressed his opposition to the continued and strengthened unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.”
Suga also “shared grave concerns about recent developments in China, including the Coast Guard Law,” the Japanese Embassy said in a statement.
Under China’s new law, its…
Keep on reading: Japan, Australia back PH in row