BRUSSELS, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Sixty countries supported a declaration on Monday pledging to work to preserve freedom of navigation and opposing the introduction of tolls through straits used for international navigation.
“We support ongoing defensive and non-escalatory multilateral initiatives aimed at preserving the freedom of navigation,” the declaration, which is supported by countries including members of the European Union, Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom, said.
“We oppose any measures, including the imposition of unlawful fees, tolls, discriminatory restrictions, prior authorization requirements or other conditions, that would hamper or impair lawful navigation, through straits used for international navigation,” it added.
(Reporting by Lili Bayer; Editing by Makini Brice)
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