Five Philippine politicians are planning a trip to disputed territories in the South China Sea today, asserting the country’s claim on oil-and-gas-rich areas in a move expected to draw protests from other claimants.The visit coincides with a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers and 17 regional partners, including China and the US, at an annual security forum.The lawmakers allied with President Benigno Aquino have chartered a civilian plane to land on Pagasa (Hope) Island in the contested Spratlys, the largest of nine territories held by the Philippines, taking along journalists. “This is not a field trip,” Walden Bello, a left-of-centre lawmaker organising the trip, told a news conference, describing the planned Spratlys tour as a “peace mission”.“This is not a military operation. This is purely a civilian peace and sovereignty mission to support our rightful claims.”China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan all claim territory in the South China Sea.China’s claim is the largest, forming a vast U-shape over most of the sea’s 648,000 square miles, including the Spratly and Paracel islands.Bello said they also planned a boat ride around Pagasa Island and an aerial tour of the disputed territories in the South China Sea, flying over areas held by China and Vietnam. Manila and Hanoi are expected to raise the South China Sea dispute at this week’s forum in Bali, Indonesia, urging China to deal with Asean in a multilateral process. Bello said the lawmakers had informed Aquino, the foreign and defence ministries about the trip.“I don’t expect to be brought down by anti-aircraft guns,” he said.Analysts expect other states to protest the lawmakers trip to the Spratlys in light of recent tensions over competing claims. “The most urgent business is to take measures to de-escalate the tensions and for all parties to show self-restraint,” Aileen Baviera, former dean of the University of the Philippines’ Asian Centre, said.