PH gets boost from Indonesia on Spratlys

JAKARTA—After the Reed Reef incident last week, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudyohono on Tuesday said the Spratly Islands should not turn into an “area of conflict.”

“It shouldn’t be an area of conflict … but of cooperation,” Yudyohono said in a press conference with President Aquino at the Merdeka palace.

Two Chinese patrol boats allegedly harassed a Philippine energy exploration vessel near the contested islands.

Yudyohono said the issue of the Spratlys could be discussed at the Asean meeting with other east Asia leaders later this year.