The Philippine has found another supporter of its decision to take its territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea to the United Nations for arbitration, with Italy's top leaders telling President Aquino that it is the "appropriate path to a peaceful dispute resolution." Security and trade issues were the central topics of discussion in Mr. Aquino's back-to-back meetings with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Mateo Renzi late Wednesday. In the hourlong meeting with Mr. Aquino, Mattarella voiced Italy's support for the Philippine's adherence to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) "in upholding freedom of navigation," acknowledging that "the Philippines has taken an appropriate path to a peaceful dispute resolution." Renzi express the same support for the Philippines' decision to bring the case to the UN Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

Dizon, N., & Quismundo, T. (2015, December 4). Italy backs PH in sea row. Philippine Daily Inquirer, pp. A1, A4