US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. spoke over the phone on Thursday, August 6, concerning the recent change in the policy of the United States on maritime claims in the South China Sea.

The telephone conversation between the two top diplomats came several days after Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana disclosed that the Philippines would no longer join the navies of other countries, like the United States, in maritime drills in the South China Sea, citing a standing order from President Duterte.

According to a press readout issued by the State Department, the two officials also talked about the US support for Southeast Asian coastal states upholding their sovereign rights and interests consistent with international law, and opportunities for further US-Philippine maritime cooperation.

In addition, both Pompeo and Locsin discussed the strong economic, security, and people-to-people ties that bind the United States and the Philippines.

Last month, Pompeo outlined the official position of the United States on maritime claims in the South China Sea, aligning itself with the July, 2016, decision of the Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague that nullified Beijing’s “nine-dash line” claim in the volatile South China Sea.

“We stand with the international community in defense of freedom of the seas and respect for sovereignty and reject any push to impose ‘might makes right’ in the South China Sea or the wider region,” the US State secretary said in the policy statement.

On July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of the Philippine petition against China's vast claims in the South China Sea.