Graphic via Bloomberg
text via Rappler:
'The Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) explained this on Friday, August 1, in its first formal statement about the “triple action plan (TAP)” it will propose in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings in Myanmar this month.
The DFA said: “As an immediate approach, the TAP calls for a moratorium on specific activities that escalate tension in the South China Sea. This approach brings to fore the need for a more concrete definition of paragraph 5 of the ASEAN-China Declaration of Conduct on the South China Sea.”
Paragraph 5 of the DOC, a non-binding document signed in 2002, already says claimant states should “undertake to exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability.”
The Philippines, however, saw the need to define this paragraph more concretely as a way “to press the gas pedal” in resolving the sea disputes. It wants “to be a leader to speed things up,” DFA spokesman Charles Jose told reporters in June. '
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