A tiny island in the South China Sea symbolizes the struggle — and disparity — in the Philippines’ efforts to assert its rights in disputed waters when compared to China, which claims much of the waters.
Manila is rushing to develop the 33-hectare Thitu Island, with the government planning to pour in billions of pesos to upgrade it. Just over 200 civilians and military personnel currently reside on the island.
But just some 17 miles southwest of the island, China has built a fully functioning military base on Subi Reef that is an estimated to be 12 times the size of Thitu.
That base is just one of Beijing’s 27 outposts in the South China Sea equipped with ports, runways and other infrastructure aimed at asserting its sweeping claims in the key waterway. In contrast, Manila occupies nine features that have few facilities or structures. Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also have a presence in the area, and overlapping territorial claims.
This disparity explains, in part, the Philippines’ recent urgency in bolstering its defense alliances, most notably the U.S. Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has, over the past year, moved to assert his country’s rights in the waters. He’s been backed by unstinting U.S. support. Marcos will meet U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in a trilateral summit at the White House on April 11 aimed at strengthening ties. Both Japan and the Philippines are treaty allies of the U.S.
No comments:
Post a Comment