A global association of political parties has condemned China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), in a move the Philippines hailed as an “international expression of support” for its claim on isles in the disputed territory.

In a one-page resolution issued in Brussels,  the Centrist Democrat International (CDI)  said it “condemns the forcible takeover and occupation of the Scarborough Islets and the Ayungin Islands in the South China Sea” that the CDI said were “possessed and occupied by the Philippines as part of its continental shelf and within its exclusive economic zone.”

The CDI is an umbrella organization of political parties and groups working with democratic governments around the world.

It described China’s aggressive stance as an “open and brazen breach of its treaty obligations under the United Nations Charter and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and of international law.”