China has expressed its gratitude to the Philippines for backing its candidate for one of the vacant seats in the International Court of Justice.
In a tweet, the Chinese Embassy in Manila thanked Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. for expressing support for Beijing’s candidate for the seat.
“Thank you for your support of the Chinese candidate. It is highly appreciated,” the Chinese Embassy said in a Twitter post.
“As always, China would like to continue to strengthen close cooperation and coordination with the Philippines in regional and international fora.”
Locsin earlier defended the Philippines’ choices for the vacant positions in the United Nations’ court of justice.
He said the Philippines had voted for the candidates of China, Japan, and Germany, whom he described as having “sterling qualifications with their probity beyond question.”
He said the Philippines’ “national interest is in the intelligence and integrity” of the world court.
“We voted for CHINA’s, JAPAN’s and GERMANY’s respective candidates for the International Court of Justice and all 3 won—along with Uganda,” Locsin said in a Twitter post.
“Their qualifications are sterling, their probity beyond question; our national interest is in the intelligence & integrity of the world court.”
The bilateral relations between China and the Philippines have improved under the Duterte administration despite the lingering tensions due to the territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
During the ASEAN Summit held virtually on Thursday, President Rodrigo Duterte exhorted the member states to uphold the July 2016 arbitration ruling of a United Nations-backed tribunal that invalidated China’s sweeping claims over the resource-rich waters.