The Philippines and the United States on Tuesday reaffirmed their commitment to uphold freedom of navigation, overflight and other lawful uses of the South China Sea (SCS) or West Philippine Sea (WPS). The Department of Foreign Affairs made the announcement after Manila and Washington concluded their two-day 8th Bilateral Strategic Dialogue (BSD). The discussions between Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in March 2019 and the joint statement resulting from the meeting in Manila between President Rodrigo Duterte and US President Donald Trump in November 2017 provided strategic direction to the dialogue.

Tamayo, B. E. (2019. July 17). US, PH uphold freedom to sail in disputed sea. The Manila Times, pp. A1, A8.