Biden notes Aquino’s “remarkable legacy that will endure for years to come”
(Eagle News) – US President Joe Biden extended his “deepest condolences to the people of the Philippines on the death of former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.”
“He was a valued friend and partner to the United States, and he will long be remembered for serving his country with integrity and selfless dedication,” President Biden said in a statement.
The US leader noted how the former president has left a “remarkable legacy at home and abroad that will endure for years to come.” He cited Aquino’s “bold steps to promote a rules-based international order.”
“President Aquino’s steadfast commitment to advancing peace, upholding the rule of law, and driving economic growth for all Filipinos, while taking bold steps to promote the rules-based international order, leaves a remarkable legacy at home and abroad that will endure for years to come,” Biden said.
“I greatly valued our time working together, and I extend my heartfelt sympathies to his family and to all who will mourn his absence,” he said.
Former President Aquino’s push to file an arbitration case questioning the traditional claims of China in the disputed South China Sea has resulted in the historic 2016 arbitral award that “authoritatively ruled that China’s claim of historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the nine-dash line has no basis in law,” according to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.
The DFA recognized that this was “of great significance and consequence to the peaceful settlement of disputes in the South China Sea and to the peace and stability of the region at large.”
(Eagle News Service)