TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Philippines military chief Romeo Brawner claimed on Monday, January 15, 2024, that the country will develop islands in the South China Sea to make them more habitable for troops.

The plans come amid heightened tensions between the Philippines and China, both of whom claim territory in the South China Sea.

Apart from the Second Thomas Shoal, locally known as Ayungin, the Philippines occupies eight other features in the South China Sea and considers them part of its exclusive economic zone.

"We'd like to improve all the nine, especially the islands we are occupying," Brawner said after attending a command conference led by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the military headquarters.

The features include Thitu island, the biggest and most strategically important in the South China Sea. Known locally as Pag-asa, Thitu lies about 300 miles west of the Philippine province of Palawan.

Brawner said that the military wants to bring a desalination machine for troops living aboard a warship that the Philippines deliberately grounded on the Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 to assert its sovereignty claim. Also included in the military's modernization plans is the acquisition of more ships, radars, and aircraft as the Philippines shifts its focus to territorial from internal defense.

Besides the Philippines, Brunei, China, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam have competing claims of sovereignty in the South China Sea, a conduit for goods in excess of US$3 trillion every year.

REUTERS

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