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Pag-asa Island, otherwise known as Thitu Island, is situated in the Spratly Islands in the disputed South China Sea. The Philippines has built a port and is upgrading the air strip. Photo: AFP
Opinion
Lucio Blanco Pitlo III
Lucio Blanco Pitlo III

Philippines bolsters posture in South China Sea after navy ship docks at new Spratly Islands port

  • A Philippine navy ship, the BRP Ivatan, recently docked at a newly-built port on Pag-asa or Thitu Island, its largest occupied feature in the South China Sea
  • This, and the arrival of a new multirole frigate from South Korea, demonstrate Manila’s resolve to defend its interests, even as ties with Beijing improve
Two recent developments in the South China Sea are poised to enhance the Philippines’ position in the increasingly tense flashpoint and allay criticism that President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration is lacking resolve in defending the country’s interests.

On May 13, Philippine Navy ship BRP Ivatan became the first vessel to dock at the nearly-completed port of Pag-asa (Thitu Island), Manila’s largest occupied feature in the Spratly Islands in the disputed sea.

And last weekend, the country’s first modern multirole frigate from South Korea, BRP Jose Rizal, arrived in Subic naval base.

The BRP Ivatan (R) docks at the port of Pag-asa in the Spratly Islands. Photo: Handout
The BRP Ivatan, a decommissioned Balikpapan-class heavy landing craft refurbished and donated by Australia to the Philippines in 2015, is fittingly named after the Ivatans, a hardy and resilient people living in the country’s northernmost island group of Batanes which is constantly battered by strong typhoons and huge waves.

Its historic docking in Pag-Asa may well cause ripples too.

Pag-asa Island is the seat of the Philippines’ smallest town, Kalayaan, which was established in 1978 and administers close to a dozen other islets, cays and reefs in the Spratly Islands.

Isolation and lack of infrastructure hindered the town’s development, but a new port that is about 90 per cent built may change that.

Work on the port and upgrades to the island’s airstrip progressed despite the alleged swarming of Chinese vessels for over a year. This shows Manila’s resolve to boost its posture in a long-running regional flashpoint even as ties with Beijing have improved in recent years.

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The long overdue infrastructure project is the biggest on Pag-asa since former strongman Ferdinand Marcos staked out the country’s claims in the sea in the late 1970s.

The port will facilitate the delivery of construction materials and essential supplies to improve living conditions on the island, including the establishment of a proposed desalination plant, renewable energy power source, cold storage facility, and fish port. This would enable the town to support a larger population, provide greater economic opportunities to its inhabitants, and even welcome tourism.

An aerial shot of Pag-asa island (Thitu Island) in the Spratly group of islands in the South China Sea. Photo: EPA-EFE

With improved infrastructure, Pag-asa could house more provisions. This would allow it to improve routine resupply and troop rotation as well as replenish stocks of other islands, reducing the turnaround time and logistical costs from long voyages coming out of the mainland island of Palawan.

If construction in Pag-asa is a harbinger for similar works on other islands, it may reinforce the country’s position in an increasingly tense backyard after decades of inaction, during which other claimants have long been improving facilities in their occupied features.

Philippines rejects China’s ‘administrative centre’ label on disputed reef

China’s reclamation activities, turning sand into massive artificial islands from 2013, have been a game changer in the South China Sea.

Since then, Beijing has also ramped up its efforts to exert jurisdiction over the disputed sea, conducting more sustained patrols and challenging those of others, interfering in marine economic activities of other littoral states, and enforcing unilateral fishing bans.

Last April, China named 80 geographical features in the semi-enclosed sea. It also established two new administrative districts, including one that will govern the Spratlys – a move opposed by both the Philippines and Vietnam. It also established two new research stations in Fiery Cross Reef and nearby Subi Reef last March. There are also concerns that it may soon declare an Air Defence Identification Zone over the strategic waterway.
An aerial photo of the alleged ongoing reclamation by China in the Spratly group of islands in May 2015. Photo: EPA
For a long time, the Philippines refrained from undertaking any significant construction work in the Kalayaan municipality. Concerns about the possible reaction of other claimants, including fellow Asean members Vietnam and Malaysia, and worries that it may trigger a build-up race frustrated previous plans.

Neglect, ascendancy of internal security and overemphasis on diplomatic and legal approaches contributed to the erosion of Manila’s initial advantage.

Asean stays on the sidelines as South China Sea tensions mount

As one of the few remaining Asean countries with pockets of active insurgencies, the present Philippine government is waging an intensified campaign against rebels. Defeating these domestic security challenges may enable it to focus more on territorial and maritime defence, a goal supported by sustained modernisation of its naval and air force capabilities.

The twin developments of the berthing of BRP Ivatan in Pag-asa and the arrival of BRP Jose Rizal in Subic – the first of two orders from Korean shipmaker Hyundai Heavy Industries, with the second, BRP Antonio Luna, due for delivery in September – show the Duterte administration is serious about defending the country’s interests in the West Philippine Sea.

South Korean sailors lining the rails of the Navy's Pohang-class corvette Seongnam (L) to salute the lead ship of the Philippine navy's brand new Jose Rizal-guided class missile frigate (R) and wish it a safe voyage home. Photo: EPA-EFE

In hindsight, the soft landing Manila took after its sweeping arbitration victory in 2016 and a bilateral consultation mechanism established since then did more than just stave off possible conflict.

It also opened spaces for Manila to push the envelope and undertake major construction works in Pag-asa. While China expectedly applied pressure, it knows it cannot rock the boat too much for fear the brash Duterte may take an about-turn – an undesirable scenario.

Last year, in response to the presence of suspected Chinese maritime militias around Pag-asa, Duterte spoke strongly against any attempt to infringe on the island. In 2017, against Beijing’s wishes, he sent his Defence Secretary, Delfin Lorenzana, along with the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and other officials on a landmark visit to Pag-asa to preside over a symbolic flag-raising ceremony.

Soldiers stand at attention near a Philippine flag raised on Pag-Asa (Thitu island) in April 2017. Photo: Reuters

Indeed, unprecedented infrastructure improvements in the Kalayaan municipality and a commitment to military modernisation may form part of Duterte’s legacy.

Whether that will be enough to offset the costs of momentarily setting aside the arbitral award, only the future can tell.

Lucio Blanco Pitlo III is a Research Fellow at the Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation.

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