THE Philippine government has firmed up its legal territorial ownership of the nine features that it currently occupies in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) and West Philippine Sea (WPS) by installing five buoys on four of the islands that will serve as “sovereign markers” for the country.
Two of the five buoys installed by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) were placed on Pagasa Island, the biggest of the features in the KIG that is also the seat of government of the Municipality of Kalayaan, which is part of Palawan.
“These buoys are now our source of pride and honor in serving our great nation,” said PCG Commandant Admiral Artemio Abu following the installation of the floating markers that was carried out for two days in the middle part of this month.
Abu said PCG personnel “braved dangers” during the mission, which was carried out under the watchful eyes of numerous vessels from China and Vietnam.
On Thursday, President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said he would assert the country’s ownership of the WPS or the country’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) as affirmed by the UN Arbitral Tribunal, but which China is disputing.
“We have a very important ruling in our favor and we will use it to continue to assert our territorial rights. It is not a claim. It is already our territorial right,” he was quoted as saying during his interview with journalists.
Legitimate claim
THE KIG became an integral part of the Philippine territory by virtue of Presidential Decree (PD) 1596 issued on July 11, 1978, by Marcos Jr.’s father, the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.
PD 1596 declared a cluster of islands and islets in the Spratly archipelago as a “distinct and separate municipality known as Kalayaan” under the province of Palawan.
The KIG was made a part of the country by reason of “history, indispensable need and effective control and occupation.”
When then President Marcos declared the KIG a part of the country, no one among the present claimant states, including China, had protested.
At that time, the Philippines was still a military powerhouse in Asia, securing its skies with F-5 fighter jets. The Scarborough Shoal, which was occupied by China in 2012, used to be a target range for the F-5s and other aircraft of the Philippine Air Force along with the Americans.
Later, the Marcos Sr. administration issued warnings to countries and even future claimants that any attempts to reclaim the KIG would be considered an “assault against the Philippines.”
Strategic value
STRATEGICALLY perched, the KIG, or the Spratly Group of Islands, was used by the Japanese Imperial Forces during World War II as a staging point for their invasion of the Philippines.
The islands offer numerous opportunities to station attack vessels, submarines and light aircraft that could patrol the southern part of the South China Sea.
In installing the floating markers, the PCG said the buoys, which measure 30 foot each, should serve as “symbols of coastal state administration.”
According to Abu, the buoys should also denote the areas as special protected zones where mining and oil exploration are prohibited.
Aside from Pagasa, floating markers were also installed in Lawak, Likas and Parola Islands by PCG personnel aboard the BRP Corregidor, BRP Bojeador, BRP Suluan, BRP Capones and tug boat Habagat.
Apart from proudly marking the islands as part of the Philippine territory, Abu said the buoys would also serve as navigational aids for Filipino fishermen and other sailors passing the KIG and the WPS.
Likewise, the buoys should serve as the eyes and ears of the PCG in the KIG and WPS as they have a remote monitoring system and use satellite technology to transmit data to its national headquarters in Manila.
The two-day marker-laying operations were indeed challenging and dangerous—they were made while Chinese Coast Guard ships and maritime militia vessels were then at a near distance, along with Chinese and Vietnamese fishing vessels.
“My guidance to them was to let us be the one to challenge them. But the Coast Guard Fleet said WPS is peaceful and the vessels from Vietnam and China are showing respect to the mission we are conducting,” Abu said.
In the past, Chinese Coast Guard ships have harassed both Philippine military and civilian vessels in the WPS, including resupply missions to Filipino soldiers guarding outposts in the territory.
Assert and occupy
THE installation of buoys in the KIG and in its adjoining EEZ was just part of the government’s efforts to make its presence stronger in those maritime waters and features, aside from the conduct of regular patrol and other maritime missions by the military and PCG.
Last year, the PCG opened a newly upgraded station on Pagasa, while the government energized the island by installing solar-energy systems.
The military also put forward an initial plan to convert Pagasa into a logistics hub so that it could fully sustain its force deployment and patrols in the KIG and WPS.