The Philippines should take the lead in forming a coalition among Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries to jointly enforce the Final Award recently issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the arbitration proceedings initiated by Manila against China over their territorial dispute in the South China Sea. The call was issued by international policy experts in a forum organized this week by the Stratbase Albert Del Rosario Institute (ADRi) in partnership with Asia Society Philippines and the Asian Institute of Management. “It is time for like-minded ASEAN states, with direct or indirect stakes, to form a coalition within and coordinate policy vis-à-vis South China Sea,” said Professor Richard Heydarian of the De La Salle University’s political science department during the forum where other policy experts presented the possibilities, viability, limitations and implications to regional security of the PCA Award. At the same time, Heydarian stressed [...]
