MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III urged the executive branch on Saturday to seek the immediate intervention of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to defuse the tension in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), in the wake of the passage of a new coast guard law by China.
Pimentel, chair of the Senate committee on foreign relations, said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) can activate its “hotline” with China and call on its government to defer the enforcement of the new Coast Guard law on the Philippines’ claimed territories in the West Philippine Sea.
“We can use this diplomatic channel, but in the meantime should not be made publi…
Keep on reading: Koko urges ‘Asean way’ for maritime tension