bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agencies

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the military to occupy and fortify all Philippine-held islands in the disputed South China Sea to assert the country’s claims amid what he says is a race to control territory in the area.
Duterte said Thursday that structures should be built on all of the nine to 10 islands, reefs and shoals held by the Philippines in the Spratly Islands.
Duterte said he may visit one of the islands, Pag-asa, the local name for Thitu Island, to plant a Philippine flag on Independence Day.
He said money has been budgeted to repair the runway there, home to a small fishing community and Filipino troops.

“It looks like everybody is making a grab for the islands there, so we better live on those that are still vacant,” he told reporters during a visit to a military camp on the western island of Palawan, near the disputed Spratly group.
China asserts sovereignty over almost all of the resource-rich South China Sea despite rival claims from Southeast Asian neighbours and has rapidly built reefs into artificial islands capable of hosting military planes.
Thitu is close to Subi Reef, one of seven man-made islands in the Spratlys that China is accused of militarising with surface-to-air missiles, among other armaments.


Duterte has previously sought to improve his nation’s relations with China by adopting a non-confrontational approach over their competing claims in the strategically vital waters.
But the president appeared to alter his tone with his announcement Thursday, saying it was time to “erect structures there and raise the Philippine flag”.
“I have ordered the armed forces to occupy all.
“At least, let us get what is ours now and make a strong point there that it is ours,” he said, adding Manila was claiming “nine or 10” Spratly islands, reefs or cays.

An official at the Chinese embassy in Manila seemed surprised when asked to comment on Duterte’s declaration, but referred questions on the matter to the Chinese foreign ministry in Beijing.
The Philippines under Duterte’s predecessor Benigno Aquino had actively challenged China’s claim to control most of the South China Sea, despite counter-claims by several other nations.
But the controversial Duterte, who took office last year on promises to kill thousands of people in a drug war, reversed that policy as he sought billions of dollars worth of investments and grants from Beijing.

The two neighbours are scheduled to hold talks in China in May to tackle issues related to the sea row.
The Philippine military currently has garrisons on Thitu, the largest of the Filipino-claimed islands.
After China occupied Mischief Reef in the mid-1990s, the Philippines marooned a derelict navy vessel atop nearby Second Thomas Shoal to assert Manila’s territorial claim.
Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have also sparred with Beijing over territory in the disputed waterway.
Watch: what’s happened so far in the South China Sea


Last month, Defence Minister Delfin Lorenzana said the military would strengthen its facilities in the Spratlys, building a new port, paving an existing rough airstrip and repairing other structures.
Chinese coast guard vessels prevented a Philippine nationalist group from planting a Filipino flag on a rocky outcrop in another part of the South China Sea in June.
Duterte said last month it was pointless trying to challenge China’s fortification of its man-made islands and ridiculed the media for referring to his comment that he would jet ski to one Beijing’s reclaimed reefs.

“We cannot stop them because they are building it with their mind fixed that they own the place. China will go to war,” he said.
US President Donald Trump’s administration so far has taken a tough stance on China’s claims in the South China Sea, insisting it will defend international interests there.
Trump was set to sit down with Chinese President Xi Jinping later in the day to discuss a range of issues which will likely including tensions in the South China Sea.
Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, Reuters


South China Sea: Beijing seeks ‘fair and just maritime order’

Rubio and Hegseth discuss Indo-Pacific security with Australian counterparts in Washington

China sends seasoned ‘America hand’ to serve as top envoy to Philippines

Deterring Taiwan conflict a ‘priority’: US national security report

South China Sea

Duterte orders troops to occupy and fortify Philippine-held islands in South China Sea

The BRP Sierra Madre, a marooned transport ship which Philippine Marines live on as a military outpost, is pictured in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, part of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. File Photo: Reuters

This photo taken on April 4, 2017 shows Philippine soldiers marching during the army's 120th anniversary ceremony at Fort Bonifacio camp in Manila. President Rodrigo Duterte attended the event. / AFP PHOTO / TED ALJIBE

An armed Filipino soldier stands guard on the unspoiled beach of the Philippine-claimed Pag-asa Island in the Spratlys Group in the South China Sea Friday, April 14, 2000. Philippine Defense Chief Orlando Mercado and other officials flew to this seldom-visited island to launch a program to develop its potentials. The Pag-asa and other islets and shoals in the Spratlys, believed to be rich in oil and natural gas, are being claimed by the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, right, reviews the troops with Army Chief Lt. Gen. Glorioso Miranda, left, during the 120th anniversary celebration of the Philippine Army Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at Fort Bonifacio in suburban Taguig city, east of Manila, Philippines. Duterte threatened on Monday to unleash new attack aircraft and the "full power of the state" against communist rebels if a new round of peace talks fails, and insisted they accept new conditions including a halt to extortion and to territorial claims. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

This is an aerial photo of the Philippine-claimed Pag-asa Island, one of a group of islands in the Spratlys at South China Sea, taken from a Phlippine Air Force plane on Friday April 14, 2000. The island was visited by Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado to launch a program to develop the islands and islets claimed by the Philippines. The Spratlys, believed to be rich in oil and natural gas, is also being claimed by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

Rodrigo Duterte