Southeast Asian leaders are likely to avoid any official mention at their Manila summit this week of an arbitration ruling that had nullified China’s massive claims on the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), according to a draft of their final declaration. The draft, obtained on Wednesday by reporters, is being fine-tuned by senior officials for the leaders to approve during the 30th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit this week in Manila. The final version is to be released on Saturday, but major points including those concerning the South China Sea are expected to remain largely unchanged.

Valente, C., & Antiporda, J. (2017, April 27). Asean declaration skirts China issue. Manila Times, pp. A1, A2.