Philippines to push for rules based solution to settle sea dispute

The Philippines President Benigno S. Aquino III will advocate for a rules-based approach with leaders of claimant countries in the West Philippine Sea to finally settle the dispute peacefully. Speaking to the media here Wednesday, Secretary Ramon Carandang of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office said the general message that the Philippine Government is sending throughout the ASEAN Summit and other summits is for the adoption of a rules-based mechanism so that the West Philippine Sea issue could be resolved peacefully, the Philippines News Agency said. "We have consistently pushed for moving forward on a rules-based peaceful resolution to the different territorial claims that have become issues among the countries here in this part of the world," Carandang said. We continue to press for a rules-based solution and we will take the opportunity of the ASEAN and other summits to urge all the claimants to participate in what we hope can be a peaceful resolution to these disputes, he added.