TOKYO: Senior officials of Japan, Australia and India agreed Friday on the importance of maintaining the rule of law in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), sharing “strong concerns” about tensions in the region amid China’s rising maritime assertiveness.

“We shared strong concerns about moves to unilaterally change the status quo that would lead to destabilization in the region,” Vice Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki told reporters after talks with his Australian and Indian counterparts in Tokyo.

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