Philippines Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. (L) and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. (Photo: CNN Philippines)

The US Department of State said that Philippines Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed ways to strengthen the two countries’ alliance and the binding nature of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)’s ruling for all parties. They also discussed economic, security, and people-to-people relations.

In 2016, the PCA in The Hague rejected China’s sovereignty claims to most of the South China Sea.