The Philippines has ambitious plans to fortify Thitu Island and nearby Nanshan Island with desalination plants and advanced communications equipment, a critical upgrade for its remote outposts in the South China Sea.
Thitu, locally known as Pag-asa, is the crown jewel of Manila’s holdings, the largest Philippine-occupied feature in these contested waters, complete with an airstrip, a landing dock, and a small civilian community of over 200 residents.All nine Philippine-governed outposts remain tethered to the mainland by a precarious lifeline, dependent on regular navy supply runs and invariably threatened by the looming shadow of Chinese maritime forces.
In November last year, 40-45 Chinese militia boats surrounded this island and lingered for weeks around it.
Later in December, similar activity was observed in the region. South China Morning Post quoted Ray Powell, a former US Air Force official and director of Stanford University’s maritime transparency project, Sealight.
He reported the presence of nearly 75 ships just 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km) off Thitu Island. He described it as “by far the largest China vessel swarm” he had ever seen.
Over the last couple of years, Manila has ramped up the coast guard patrols in the region and has sent scientific teams to evaluate reports of Chinese reclamation activity at Sandy Cay and three other reefs.
“China’s military assets are far stronger than the Thitu outpost. Its installations on nearby Subi Reef include surface-to-air missiles, hangars, a runway, radar and a deepwater shelter port,” mentioned Financial Times in its ‘China seizes disputed reef in the South China Sea’.
China has territorial disputes with more than 17 countries. Beijing is not only redrawing maps but also trying to rewrite the rules of the game.
