The Philippines has completed the construction of a beach ramp on the largest island it occupies in the disputed South China Sea, which would pave the way for more improvements in the area, officials said yesterday.
Construction of the ramp on Pagasa Island, internationally called Thitu Island, began in November 2017 but was only officially opened yesterday due to delays caused by bad weather and other factors, the Department of Defence said.
Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the ramp would allow the government to proceed with a total of 1.3bn pesos ($26mn) worth of projects for Pagasa, including the repair of the island’s runway that has been damaged by erosion.
“This is very significant because with the beaching ramp, we can bring in more materials, equipment to repair and then later on maintain our airstrip,” he said. Before the completion of the facility, ships would have to anchor about 500 metres from the island to deliver goods.
Small boats would have to gather the supplies from the ships then bring them to the island, Lorenzana said. Amid opposition from China over the construction in Pagasa,
Lorenzana said there was no attempt to militarise the island despite arming the soldiers there, adding, “The purpose of this is to develop this area into a viable community.”
China claims almost the entire South China Sea as its territory and has built artificial islands with military-capable facilities over reefs and outcrops in the area, which are also claimed in part by Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.