Australia Foreign Minister Penny Wong thanked the Philippine for the assistance it provided in "ascertaining the location" of a Japanese transport ship that sank off the northwest coast of Luzon during World War II .

"I also thank the people in the government of the Philippines for your work in ascertaining the location of the Montevideo Maru. As I said to the secretary, obviously, this has been a very sad chapter in our history and we are grateful for your assistance. In that work," Wong said during the press conference after the bilateral meeting with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo on Thursday.

The wreck of steamship Montevideo Maru which was struck by a torpedo on July 1, 1942 was discovered last month at a depth of more than 4,000 meters off the coast of Ilocos Norte.

In his Twitter post, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said that the incident is "one of the most tragic chapters in Australia’s maritime history" and noted that the tragedy is the "single biggest loss of lives of Australians at sea" in their history.

Marles said SS Montevideo Maru was carrying "thousands of prisoners of war from 16 different countries, including 864 Australian" service personnel while enroute to Hainan, China from Papua New Guinea when it sank by an American submarine.

Manalo said "the discovery of the wreckage of the World War Two Japanese ship, the Montevideo Maru, off the coast of Ilocos Norte last month demonstrates also the clear benefits of our (Philippine - Australian) collaboration".

"I wish to recognize the efforts of each of our diaspora Filipinos in Australia, which now number about 400,000 Australians in the Philippines, in contributing to the economic and social cultural growth of our countries," he said. Robina Asido/DMS