Philippine military upgrades facilities in disputed Spratly islands

MANILA: The Philippines has started upgrading military facilities on the biggest features it occupies in the disputed South China Sea, its defence secretary said on Tuesday, asserting Manila’s claims in the strategic waterway.

Delfin Lorenzana said a contractor was building a beach ramp on Thitu Island, locally known as Pag-asa (hope), the largest of nine features the Philippines holds in the Spratly islands.

“While construction is ongoing, albeit intermittently, depending on good weather, we expect its completion by next year,” Lorenzana said, adding that the monsoon rains had been hampering the building of the beach ramp.

“No construction can proceed without a good beaching ramp.”

He added that China and the Philippines would negotiate a military protocol to avoid maritime “miscalculations”, following a brief standoff near a Philippine-occupied island in a disputed part of the South China Sea.

Lorenzana said the Philippines tried to put up makeshift structures on a sandbar about 4km off Thitu island in the Spratly archipelago in August, but China objected and sent ships to the area.

President Rodrigo Duterte sought to defuse tensions by ordering troops to pull out. Construction was stopped.

“We intend to sit down with China to draft and agree on a protocol to resolve immediately any incident,” he said, adding that he hoped talks could start this year.

“We hope to avoid any miscalculations in the disputed areas, so we need the protocol to act on any problems because we cannot wait for higher authorities to decide.

“Anything can happen any time, so we want commanders on the ground to decide to prevent violence.”

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, but Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims on the waterway where more than US$3 trillion (RM12.6 trillion) worth of sea-borne goods pass every year.

Recent satellite imagery has shown Chinese vessels gathering around Thitu, in what some experts say could be an attempt to deter the Philippines from cementing its claim.

China’s ambassador had played that down, insisting his country had no ill intent. Reuters