The Australian Parliament lauded President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s dedication to addressing the current situation in the South China Sea, but Australian senators didn't agree with the Philippine President's remarks and urged the Philippines to stop abusing human rights.

The President gave a historic speech to Australian lawmakers, Peter Dutton — the leader of the opposition — praised Marcos' efforts in the disputed waterway.

"Mr. President, we find ourselves in times of emboldened autocrats and belligerent regimes who show utter contempt for sovereignty, law and liberty," Dutton said.

"Your country shows and knows a resolve, because your country knows that the threats are real," Dutton added.

In his last State of the Nation Address (SONA), Marcos promised to protect the Philippines' sovereign rights and territorial integrity.

Dutton said this was "an imperative for all nations who cherish peace, prosperity, and the preservation of civilization itself."

He added that like-minded nations, such as the Philippines and Australia, need to keep "speaking up with courage to call out acts of intimidation and interference."

"We must all maintain our strenuous efforts in diplomacy, and we must all especially lift our individual efforts to support the collective goal of integrated deterrence," Dutton said.

Australian senators on Marcos' speech

Meanwhile, several Australian senators spoke out against President Marcos' speech to the Australian Parliament. One of them called for the Philippines to "stop human rights abuses."

Australian Senator Janet Rice of the Greens, a member of Australia's fourth-largest political party, raised a banner that read: “Stop the human rights abuses.”

In a post on X, Rice said that the Marcos government is making corruption worse in the Philippines and that there are still hundreds of political prisoners.

"Under President Marcos Jr., corruption in the Philippines is getting worse. There are hundreds of political prisoners and ‘anti-terrorism’ laws are used as legal cover for extrajudicial killings,” she said in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Besides Rice, three other senators from Australia's Greens party also spoke out against Marcos's appearance in Parliament.

The senators Jordon Steele-John, Barbara Pocock, and David Shoebridge did not want to listen to Marcos' speech and joined other Filipinos having protest rallies outside of Parliament.

"While President Marcos Jr. gave a speech to the parliament today, I was proud to protest in solidarity with the Australian-Filipino community outside parliament. Stop the human rights abuses!" Steele-John said in a post on X.