Thitu Island, the largest of the Philippine-administered islands and second largest naturally occurring island in Spratly Islands, South China Sea, is one of the world’s most fiercely disputed maritime locations.
China has repeatedly stated that the Philippines has no legitimate claim to Thitu Island, other Spratly land features, and the waters around them. Chinese authority also said the Philippines is illegally occupying Thitu Island.
Occupied by the Philippines since 1974 and currently home to 250 civilians, Thitu Island is the vanguard of the Philippine’s territorial confrontations with China, which is claiming almost the entirety of the South China Sea. A 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague found that China’s expansive claims had no basis under international law.
The island is the only one with a permanent civilian settlement, together with military personnel and the occasional tourists.
Facilities on the island included a sheltered harbor, beaching ramp at the tip of the airstrip, a concrete runway, lighthouse, five-bed clinic, communication tower, elementary and high school, and a coast guard station, among others.
There is also the ongoing Pag-asa Island Airport Development Project, to expand the airstrip and extend the runway to serve as a transportation hub for civilians and military personnel.
Philippines refers to the Thitu Island, a rich fishing grounds, as Pag-asa Island while the Chinese refers to it as Zhongye Dao.
According to The Guardian, Larry Hugo, head of the fisherfolk association on Thitu, said they will not leave the island no matter what happens. In the past year, Chinese vessels have been harassing fishermen like Hugo. There was also an increasing number of drones and aircraft as if Thitu was under Chinese surveillance. Hugo said it felt like China is watching over what residents of Pag-asa Island are doing.
In an interview with NPR, Erwin J Dela Cruz, an officer of the Philippine Coast Guard based on Thitu Island, said: “I get so annoyed with China, because this island is ours. But they still come close with their boats sometimes and act very aggressively.”
The NPR reported that Chinese coast guard ships constantly sailed around the island and tailed Philippine vessels nearby. At night, Chinese fishing vessels lit up intensely bright lights to attract fish.
The residents, who mostly resettled from other parts of the Philippines, viewed themselves on the island as “an act of resistance” against the Chinese presence and by defiantly living there, hope Thitu can remain under Filipino control. Hugo believed the civilians’ presence on the island is a big obstacle for China to claim sovereignty.
Hugo said that in 2014, he filmed with this cellphone Chinese construction on Subi Reef, an atoll located 26 km southwest of Thitu Island, occupied by China, but claimed by the Philippines, and shared the footage on social media and with the Philippine Navy. However, he was told by the then pro-China Duterte administration to stop filming and sharing as it could damage Manila’s friendship with China.
Under the current Marcos Jr administration, Manila has since adopted a more hardline approach in its dealings with China. In a March interview with NPR, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said Filipinos have “the gumption to say stop and we are not going to allow this anymore”.
He added rhetorically: “Who believes that China has indisputable sovereignty over the whole of the South China Sea by way of history? Nobody except them.”
President Marcos Jr has made transparency and letting the world knows what China is doing in the disputed South China Sea a cornerstone of his foreign policy. His administration has regularly shared videos and photographic evidence of China’s aggressive behavior, including ramming and shooting water cannons at Filipino boats, and Chinese sailors brandishing knifes and axes, among others.
A vital component of the Philippines’ military strategy, the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept covers the Thitu Island, to boost military capabilities and strengthen maritime borders. The Philippine Air Force and Marines have mobilized more officers to the island for two-month stints, patrolling the waters and monitoring Chinese vessels.
In 2021, Hugo shared another video of the Chinese coast guard obstructing his boat that went viral. He said he is happy that the Philippine government is now doing what it should have done.
Photo credit: Pixabay/ RichardMc. Generic photo of children on a beach with fishing boat.
