Philippines mulls tourists for Thitu, bolstering S. China Sea claims

MANILA, July 23 (Reuters) - The Philippines is considering
inviting tourists to its biggest and most strategically
important outpost in the South China Sea, part of efforts to
assert its claim to sovereignty over some of the world's most
contested islands.
Thitu island in the Spratly archipelago is in the midst of
major upgrades to its dilapidated facilities, playing catch-up
with China and Vietnam, which have been developing facilities on
islands they either occupy or have built from scratch on top of
submerged reefs.
"We are on track in rebuilding or repairing our runway in
Pagasa," said Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana,
referring to Thitu, some 280 nautical miles off the Philippine
coast.
"Plus, in the future, we will be building structures for our
troops there and maybe some hotels for Filipinos who would like
to go there as tourists," he told a news conference.
A beaching ramp is being created to allow construction
materials and heavy equipment to be moved to the 37-hectare
(91-acre) island, home to a handful of soldiers and small a
civilian population, who live on government subsidies.
Also being built is a sheltered port for bigger fishing
vessels, coastguard boats and navy ships, said National Security
Adviser Hermogenes Esperon.
"We have not abandoned any island, no island was taken from
us since 2016 and we are strengthening our positions and
possession," Esperon said.
In the Spratlys, the Philippines occupies nine features,
Malaysia controls five, Taiwan has one and Vietnam 27, according
to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.
By comparison, China's Subi Reef is a fortress, just 14
nautical miles away from Thitu, housing about 400 individual
buildings – far more than China's other six manmade islands in
the Spratlys, three of which are equipped with radar, hangars,
runways and surface-to-air missiles.
In his annual address to the nation on Monday, Philippine
President Rodrigo Duterte cited those missiles as reasons not to
provoke China in what was a spirited defence of his
controversial policy of not challenging its maritime activities.
China claims it has historic right of ownership to almost
the entire South China Sea, despite a 2016 international
arbitration ruling that said that claim had no legal basis under
international law.
The sea is a vital trade route with more than $3 trillion in
ship-borne trade passing through it every year.
The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also
have overlapping claims to parts of it.

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Concrete and coral: tracking expansion in the South China Sea
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