The Philippines and Ukraine are facing similar challenges against powerful countries that are undermining international law, a Ukrainian envoy said Wednesday.

Ukraine Embassy in Malaysia Chargé d’affaires Denys Mykhailiuk issued the remarks when asked why Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky decided to visit the Philippines.

“First of all, we are facing similar challenges. So, we stand with the international law in the face of the much bigger powers who want to establish the rule of power, [and] a rule of force,” Mykhailiuk said in a television interview.

Earlier this week, Zelensky met with his Filipino counterpart, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to personally invite him to attend a Swiss-organized global peace summit on the war in Ukraine.

Ukraine has been at war with Russia since 2022, which reportedly left at least 31,000 and 50,000 soldiers dead, respectively.

The Philippines, on the other hand, is currently in a maritime dispute with China over the South China Sea.

China claims the vast South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, which is within the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.

Mykhailiuk said Ukraine “supports” the Philippines in its arbitral victory against China, referring to the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea.

“We supported the Philippines after this arbitral decision in their favor and we stand on these grounds very firmly,” he said.

“We are fighting not only for our independence but for our homes and lives. We are fighting for the right of every nation, no matter how small or big to be equal in relations with others,” he added.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration rejected Beijing’s nine-dash line — now ten-dash claims — in the South China Sea and favored Manila’s sovereign rights in the area.

Despite this, the arbitral award remains on paper as China has continued to reject the ruling and assert its claim in the area.