MANILA, Feb. 23 -- Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. stressed the need for the Philippines to reaffirm its alliances with like-minded nations if it wants to uphold the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) amid security challenges in the region.

Teodoro made this remark during the visit of a delegation from the United States National Defense University Capstone 24-2 Fellows on Thursday, the Department of National Defense (DND) said in a statement Friday.

These countries are the United States and Australia, with which the Philippines has an existing Visiting Forces Agreement.

The delegation was led by Senior Fellow and retired US Marine Corps Gen. John F. Kelly. Capstone, which is part of a five-week course for n...