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Pag-asa Island, South China Sea: This sun-splashed island is so remote that soldiers are paid a "loneliness fee" for deployment here, and the few residents are encouraged with free meals to live in a nascent village without a single car, store or internet access.
When a Philippine air force C130 cargo plane flew in on Friday with a fresh supply of rice, beds, chessboards and a flat-screen TV, a few women hitched a ride and quickly sought out their husbands among the troops for a little personal time.
The battle for ownership of the potentially oil-rich Spratly Islands has settled into an uneasy stand-off since the last fighting, involving China and Vietnam, that killed more than 70 Vietnamese sailors in 1988. The other claimants are Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan.
But for dozens of Filipino troops and villagers on steamy Pag-asa, the biggest of seven islands and two reefs occupied by the Philippines in a swath of the South China Sea, it has been a constant struggle against isolation, broiling sun and fierce storms.
They need to keep an eye, of course, on the Chinese and Vietnamese troops stationed nearby on two separately garrisoned islands. The Spratlys are composed of more than 100 small islands and reefs.
"The greatest enemy here is yourself," said Airman 1st Class Wilson Dajao, who waited on the airstrip for his wife, Joanne.
Philippine air force chief Lt Gen Pedro Cadungog, who met with troops and inspected runway repairs, said his men get 10,000 pesos monthly (Dh873) extra incentive, fondly called "loneliness pay", for the hazard and isolation. Rice, noodles and canned food are regularly shipped to troops and civilians.
The dormant Spratlys dispute has not been a worry among villagers - even when soldiers have to sometimes fire ground-mounted anti-aircraft machine guns to keep them in shape.
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