The Philippines has started building a new coastguard monitoring base Friday on an island occupied by Filipino forces in the disputed South China Sea and plans to expand joint patrols with the United States and Australia to counter China's "pure bullying" in the strategic waterway, a Philippine security official said.
Officials travelled to the remote Thitu Island on December 1, 2023 for an inauguration ceremony.
The newly constructed, two-storey centre will have radar, ship-tracking and other monitoring equipment to monitor China's actions in the hotly disputed waters and other problems, including sea accidents.
High-seas face-offs between Chinese and Philippine ships have intensified this year in the contested waters, raising fears of a larger conflict that could involve the United States.
Surrounded by white beaches, the tadpole-shaped Thitu Island is called Pag-asa — Tagalog for hope — by about 250 Filipino villagers.
It's one of nine islands, islets and atolls that have been occupied by Philippine forces since the 1970s in the South China Sea's Spratlys archipelago.
Villagers and fishers say they have gotten used to the sight of Chinese ships lurking at a distance and close to Philippines-occupied islands such as Nanshan Island, pictured.
Philippines National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said Chinese ships as openly flouting international law. "It's no longer grey zone. It's pure bullying,"
Dwarfed by China's military might, the Philippines decided this year to allow an expansion of the US military presence in its local camps under a 2014 defence pact.
It also recently launched joint sea and air patrols with the United States and Australia in a new deterrence strategy that puts the two allied powers on a collision course with Beijing.
During an incident near Japan on November 14, according to Australian authorities, a Chinese ship deployed its sonar despite being told divers from HMAS Toowoomba, pictured foreground, were in the water removing fishing netting from a propeller.
The incident left a diver with minor injuries, although China has disputed Australia's version of events.
(Australian Department of Defence)
China appears to be constructing an airstrip on a disputed South China Sea island that is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, according to satellite photos analysed by The Associated Press.
The work on Triton island in the Paracel group mirrors construction on seven human-made islands in the Spratly group to the east which have been equipped with airstrips, docks and military systems.
Satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC analysed by the AP show construction on the airstrip first visible in early August 2023. The runway, as currently laid out, would be more than 600m in length, long enough to accommodate turboprop aircraft and drones, but not fighter jets or bombers.
Triton is one of the major islands in the Paracel group, which is roughly equidistant from the coast of Vietnam and China's island province of Hainan.
China has had a small harbour and buildings on the island for years, along with a helipad and radar equipment.
China has refused to provide details of its island construction work other than to say it is aimed at helping global navigation safety. It has rejected accusations that it is militarising the South China Sea, through which an estimated US$5 trillion in trade passes annually.
The confrontation between a Chinese fighter jet and a US Navy reconnaissance plane over the South China on February 24, 2023, was the latest incident between Beijing and Washington over the disputed waters.
The Chinese PLA J-11 warplane, armed with air-to-air missiles, intercepted the US plane carrying CNN reporters, and nestled in just 150 metres off its port side.
The fighter jet tailed the US plane for about 15 minutes before heading off.
While flying close to the Philippines, the US Navy P-8 spotted a Chinese guided-missile destroyer and descended to about 300 metres to get a closer look.
It brought a warning from the warship.
"US aircraft. US aircraft. This is Chinese naval warship 173. You are approaching to me at low altitude. State your intention over," a voice was heard over the US plane's radio.
US vessels and aircraft operate regularly where international law allows, the Pentagon says.
But China claims the US presence in the South China Sea is what's fuelling the tensions.
Defence Minister Richard Marles has flagged Australia and the Philippines holding joint naval patrols in the South China Sea to counter Chinese assertiveness in the region.
Marles, right, met with Philippines Defence Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. in Manila on February 22, 2023.
"Both the Philippines and Australia are completely committed to a global rules-based order," Marles said.
The Philippine Coast Guard has accused a China Coast Guard ship of pointing a "military grade" laser at some of its crew on February 6, 2023, temporarily blinding them, aboard a vessel in contested waters of the South China Sea.
The Chinese ship also "made a dangerous manoeuvre" in approaching within 137 metres of the Philippine vessel, the Philippine Coast Guard alleged.
(Photo: CNN/Philippine Coast Guard)
In the February 6, 2023, incident, the Philippine vessel BRP Malapascua was on a mission to resupply the Sierra Madre when it was challenged by the Chinese ship, the Philippine release alleged.
"The Chinese ship illuminated the green laser light twice toward the BRP Malapascua, causing temporary blindness to her crew at the bridge," the release said.
In February 2022, Australia alleged a People's Liberation Army Navy warship "illuminated" an Australian P-8A aircraft, a reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare plane, as it was flying over the Arafura Sea
(Photo: CNN/Philippine Coast Guard)
China's military build-up in the disputed South China Sea has been revealed in new images of artificial reefs transformed into bases for troops.
Getty Images photographer Ezra Acayan captured the vast installations in the strategically-vital waterway.
Airfields, radar installations and possible missile silos now occupy the reclaimed reefs.
The latest images, released in October 2022, show China's People's Liberation Army now has a major foothold in the South China Sea.
The military development of at least three artificial islands has taken place near the Spratly Islands, close to the sea's centre.
The images showed barracks and accommodation for a reported 5000 troops stationed on the artificial islands.
The military infrastructure included airfields and aircraft hangars.
This image of Fiery Cross Reef shows a Chinese plane on a runway.
The aerial photos were taken after China's Communist Party congress event, where President Xi Jinping refused to rule out using force on Taiwan to achieve reunification.
Defence experts say the new images reveal advanced radar and missile defence systems installed on the artificial islands.
"My guess is that the sea-facing garages are for angled cruise missile launchers," Tom Shugart, adjunct senior fellow at the Centre for a New American Security, wrote on Twitter.
Some defence experts noted gun turrets and close-defence systems for detecting and destroying incoming missiles and aircraft installed on the artificial islands.
In May 2022, a Chinese fighter jet flew "very close" to a Royal Australian Air Force reconnaissance plane, set off flares and dropped chaff in its path as it conducted routine surveillance in the South China Sea.
The new images of the military installations were released after a study earlier this year warned a prolonged war in the South China Sea would threaten 90 per cent of Australia's fuel imports.
The report by RMIT University in Melbourne says China's growing naval and air power in the region would block vital shipping routes to Australia during any conflict.
In July 2022, China blasted a top US Navy official after he criticised Beijing's increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea, saying it's America's military deployments in the disputed waters — which it called "navigation bullying" — that could spark confrontations.
US Secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro, during a visit to the Philippines, said the US military focus in the disputed South China Sea would never slacken and, in fact, has intensified despite the war in Ukraine.
US naval forces including the guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold, pictured, recently held exercises in the Philippines Sea.
But Chinese officials said the South China Sea was not a "hunting ground" for countries outside the region.
"The South China Sea is not a 'hunting ground' for countries outside the region, still less should it be a 'wrestling ground' for big powers," a Chinese statement said.
Dotted with small islands, reefs and shoals, the South China Sea is a crucial shipping route and home to a messy territorial dispute that pits multiple countries against one another.
Tensions in the contested waters have ratcheted up since 2014 as China has turned sandbars into islands, equipping them with airfields, ports and weapons systems and warned US warships and aircraft to stay away from them.