Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said he will ask the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to call a moratorium on construction in the South China Sea.  It comes just two days after China began building a school on the largest island in the disputed Paracel chain, which Vietnam also claims.

Tensions in the area have escalated since China placed an oilrig in waters near the Paracel Islands, leading to ongoing sea confrontations between Chinese and Vietnamese vessels.  Manila is watching these, as well as Beijing’s aggressive moves in the Spratly Islands, just to the west of the Philippines.

Both the Spratlys and the Paracels are in the South China Sea in a vast area that Beijing recently claimed as its exclusive economic zone, even though most of it is far beyond China’s internationally-recognized 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.  China’s claim of sovereign rights contradicts with the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei.

All this has the Philippines beefing up its naval forces, and transforming a sleepy fishing village on Ulugan Bay on the west coast of Palawan Island into a major naval base that may host US warships.  Right now, it’s just a pier.  But it will soon be dredged out to handle two frigates, and will have a radar and satellite monitoring station.