MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines will "exercise territorial
sovereignty" and build a pier in the disputed Spratly islands in the
South China Sea, officials said Friday, March 30.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said it would build the pier on the
largest of the 5 Philippine-occupied islands, known as Thitu, but which
it calls Pag-asa.
The Philippines, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have
competing claims over large parts of the South China Sea including the
Spratly islands.
The territorial dispute over the waters, which are believed to sit
atop vast deposits of gas and oil, has for decades been regarded as one
of Asia's potential military flashpoints.
"What is ours is ours. Pag-asa Island is ours... The Philippines
exercises territorial sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea
(Philippine-claimed areas of the South China Sea)," the department said
in a statement.
"The construction of a pier on Pag-asa Island is a clear exercise of Philippine sovereignty."
Filipino troops occupy 5 Spratly islands including Thitu, grouping them as a town called "Kalayaan" or Freedom.
Tensions over the reputedly oil- and gas-rich territory have risen in
recent months with the Philippines accusing China of aggressive
actions.
This has included an incident where Chinese vessels fired on Filipino
fishermen and harassed an oil exploration vessel in its waters.
Basic needs
The Filipino mayor of the Kalayaan group, Eugene Bito-onon, told AFP
several government agencies had agreed to develop the pier on 37-hectare
Thitu, which hosts about 60 Filipino civilians as well as troops.
Most of the residents' food and other needs have to be shipped or flown in.
The cost and timetable for the project have not been finalized but
Bito-onon said construction of a harbour will allow equipment and
materials to be rolled off ships.
"Once we have the pier, we can unload equipment for the improvement
of the airstrip and the construction of other facilities and even
tourists," he said.
Thitu lies about 450 kilometers northwest of Palawan island, the
nearest major Philippine landmass. China's closest big landmass is
Hainan island, more than 900 kilometers away.
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| Rappler.Com | March 30, 2012 | Article Link
