Philippines establishes outposts in disputed South China Sea
- Outposts on three islands would be the largest deployment of Philippine coastguard personnel in disputed region
- China has airstrips and other military infrastructure atop human-made islands in the South China Sea
02:24
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The Philippines has established three coastguard outposts on three islands in the disputed South China Sea to monitor ship movements and promote safety, coastguard officials said Friday, amid increasing maritime tensions with China.
The move reinforced the presence of Filipino troops on the islands in the hotly contested Spratly archipelago and will likely be frowned upon by Beijing, which has claimed the disputed waterway virtually in its entirety.
China has protested any new constructions in the region although it has transformed seven disputed reefs into military-guarded island bases in past years, alarming rival claimant states and the United States, which has no territorial claims but deploys its Navy and Air Force for patrols to ensure freedom of navigation and overflight in the contested waters.
Coastguard Admiral Artemio Abu said the outposts on the islands, which were established this week, would be manned by coastguard personnel and equipped with radio communications that could report any incident to the coastguard headquarters in Manila.
Abu did not specify how many personnel would be stationed at the new outposts but said it’s the largest deployment of coastguard personnel in the disputed region so far.
“Through these command observation posts, we improve our capabilities in promoting maritime safety, maritime search and rescue, and marine environmental protection,” Abu said in a statement.