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Manila: A top official clarified that the government is merely making improvements in its existing facilities in the Spratlys in a bid to head off possible confrontation with countries claiming the disputed South China Sea island.
"We have existing structure in Pag-asa island and we are just making improvements to make it more habitable for troops stationed there. It should not be misconstrued as an effort on the part of the Philippines to build defensive structures on the island," Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said in a carefully worded statement.
Teodoro issued the statement as he dismissed reports that claimant countries have started building up their respective forces in the island chain.
Oil and gas reserves
Pag-asa island is located in the Kalayaan Island Group which comprises the Philippine claim in the total 410,000 square kilometres Spratlys, an island chain which is believed to be sitting on top of a huge oil and natural gas reserve.
"I don't see how that will aggravate any situation further, and there are inhabitants there whom we need to service," Teodoro said as he referred to the garrison of Filipino soldiers stationed in Pag-asa.
Aside from the Philippines, other countries, such as China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei, claim the islands in whole or in part.
Philippine Air Force Chief General Pedrito Cadungog revealed that the barracks of soldiers stationed on Pag-asa island will be upgraded from semi-permanent facilities to concrete structures.
Cadungog said the Philippine's move to improve its structures is not aimed at bolstering the country's military presence there but simply to let other claimant countries know that it has a claim on parts of the island.
Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr visited Pag-asa last Monday and brought with him a satellite communications system that will connect troops on the island to military general headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo.
Both Cadungog and Teodoro expressed confidence that claimant countries will continue to abide by a Code of Conduct they had signed several years ago to preserve amity among nations involved in the claim as well as the status quo in the island chain.
The renewed interest among Spratlys' claimant countries come amidst the backdrop of rising cost of fuel in the world market.
Earlier, think tank groups referred to the Spratlys as the next likely cause of international conflict because of its huge mineral reserves as well as strategic location.
- With additional inputs from Rafael Juan
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