Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana is pushing for an ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asia Nations) template of managing territorial dispute in the wake of overlapping maritime claims in the vast South China Sea, the Philippine side known as the West Philippine Sea. By ASEAN template, Lorenzana refers to the peaceful dialogue and diplomatic negotiations that are spelled out by instituting “confidence-building measures” between and among the claimant –countries. While pushing for this kind of template, Lorenzana said that no single military superpower should take control of the South China Sea since what is at stake is freedom of navigation and overflight in what he described as “global sea lines of communications” and “vital arteries of global trade.”

Recuenco, A. (2019, June 9). Lorenzana pushes for ASEAN template in managing South China Sea dispute. Manila Bulletin, pp. 1, 15.