United States Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has urged all nations, especially claimants to the hotly contested South China (West Philippine) Sea, to take a stand publicly by asserting their sovereign rights and to adopt public postures. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Esper cited the recently concluded Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) held in Bangkok, Thailand, where “most participants” were “very concerned” about the excessive claims of China in the region. “The general theme that I took from our formal plenary discussion is that most participants in that room are very concerned about China’s excessive claims in the region, that there [is] lack of compliance with international laws and norms, and they are concerned about the course of tactics used by Beijing throughout the region to advance their interests,” he said at a joint news conference with Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

Reyes, D. (2019, November 20). Assert rights in South China Sea. The Manila Times, p. A2.