Miyamoto said she was inspired to compete for the pageant after a fellow biracial Japanese friend committed suicide after years of being bullied.

The top 15 women walked the swimsuit competition, with Harvey joking it was the only reason men at home were watching the television screen, before the top 10 was announced and the evening gown round began.

Miss USA, Australia, Colombia, Philippines and France were then named as the top five.

The pageant then took a more serious tone as the question round began and the women were asked to discuss issues that especially pertained to their countries.

Harvey asked Wurtzbach about the controversy in the Philippines surrounding the reopening of a US military base and asked if she believed America should have a military presence in her home country.

'I think the US and Philippines have had a good relationship with each other,' replied Wurtzbach, representing the two countries' colonial history.

'We have their culture in our traditions up to this day and we're very welcoming with Americans - and I don't see a problem with that at all,' she concluded, to major applause from the international audience filling up the Planet Hollywood venue in Vegas.

Miss France Flora Coquerel, who had been inside the sports stadium when bombs went off during the Paris terrorist attacks in November, was asked what was the best way for the government to combat the rising threat of terrorism.

‘In my opinion, to fight terrorism, first we have to know where the problems are coming from, we have to listen to the people who are committing these attacks,' she said through an interpreter.

Some of the top 15, including Miss USA, France, Philippines, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Australia and Brazil