The Philippines rejected this week advice from the US, Japan and Australia to abide by a ruling that invalidated Chinese claims in the South China Sea, Andalou Agency reports.
“Japan, Australia, and the U.S. are our friends. The US is our treaty ally. But we have told all countries around the world: We are a sovereign nation. We will decide what is good for us, what strategy is good for us, because we are a sovereign nation,” Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alan Peter Cayetano said at a news conference.
“We expect nations not to tell us what to do,” he stressed.
The comments came following the release of a joint statement from the US, Japan and Australia on Monday that “called on China and the Philippines to abide by the Arbitral Tribunal’s 2016 Award in the Philippines-China arbitration, as it is final and legally binding on both parties”.