Southeast Asian countries see China’s installation of weapons systems in the South China Sea as very unsettling and want to prevent militarization and urge dialogue to stop “recent developments” from escalating, a minister representing the Philippines said in a press conference on Tuesday. It was Perfecto R. Yasay, Jr., the Philippines’ Foreign Affairs secretary, who disclosed that foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) were unanimous in their concern about Beijing’s reclamation and militarization of man-made islands. Mr. Yasay further disclosed that two to four ministers were for the inclusion of the 2016 Hague decision that ruled in favor of the Philippines in its contested territory with China in the drafting of the framework of the Code of Conduct (CoC) on the South China Sea.

de Guzman, E. D. P. (2017, February 22). ASEAN meeting in Boracay unsettled by cloud of Hague ruling on South China Sea. Business World, p. SI/11.