The Philippines is deferring plans to repair and upgrade features it occupies in the disputed South China Sea, the country's military chiefs said on Thursday, to avoid provoking China while the two traditional foes seek to bury the hatchet. The Philippines would continue to observe a moratorium on construction in the Spratly islands that it adopted while an international tribunal handled an arbitration case it lodged against Beijing in 2013. The decision to defer upgrades was to avoid “any aggressive action in the West Philippine Sea,” Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Eduardo Año told a news conference at an Army base, using the name by which the Philippines refers to the South China Sea.

PH defers repairs at Spratly isles. (2017, January 14). Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A8.