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EphFrom the beach at Thitu Island, the view is endless with azure waters. It is like a tranquil paradise: no noisy road traffic, air pollution or crowds. But Thitu Island is not a luxury resort, it is just a small island in the remote Spratly Islands, one of the most hotly contested maritime locations in the world.
Thitu Island, which has been occupied by the Philippines since 1974 and has 387 civilians, is also claimed by China. However, China also claims sovereignty over the island and much of the surrounding South China Sea. Thitu Island and its people are in the midst of a The struggle intensifies against their superpower neighbours.
Like many other features South China SeaEven the name of the island is disputed. The Philippines calls it Pag-asa Island (which means “hope” in Tagalog), while other claimants, China, Vietnam and Taiwan, use different names. The international tribunal uses the name Thitu Island.
“Whatever happens, we’re not leaving this island,” said Larry Hugo, president of the Thitu Fishermen’s Association. He has been chased by Chinese boats for years and has seen an increasing number of Chinese vessels sailing in the waters around Thitu, joined by planes and even drones, he said. “Thitu seems to be under surveillance. They’re watching every move of Thitu residents. They’re there more now than before.”
Local residents have lived under Chinese threats for years, but tensions have recently escalated in the South China Sea. Earlier this year, Chinese ships actually Implementing a blockade The Philippines has repeatedly accused China of ramming its ships and bombarding them with water cannons in an effort to prevent Philippine supply missions from reaching Philippine troops at Second Thomas Shoal (121 nautical miles from Thitu Island).
This month, two Philippine Coast Guard vessels collided with Chinese vessels at Sabina Shoal, damaging the vessels. It was the first such incident in recent years. Sabina Shoal and the Thomas 2 are both within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Thitu Island is not.
On Friday, Chinese state media focused on the Thitu Island issue, saying the Philippines could “provoke trouble” through its presence on the island and accusing Manila of “illegally” occupying the island and expanding its military infrastructure. Then on Sunday, Philippine and Chinese ships clashed near Sabina Shoal, with Manila saying it was on a supply mission for fishermen and the Chinese Coast Guard saying it was an “illegal” entry into its waters.
China also introduced new regulations in June to empower its Coast Guard Detaining foreigners suspected of illegal entryHugo said Thitu’s fishermen now only go out to sea in groups. “We have an agreement that if one of us is caught, all of us will be caught together,” he said.
“We are ready to die here.”
When Hugo first came to work on Thitu Island in 2009, the island was virtually untouched by development. “There were only 16 of us, and no one else on Thitu Island,” he said. “The electricity only came on at 11 p.m. There was no signal.” The island was completely silent, he said. “You couldn’t even hear people.”
Hugo, who was responsible for building some of the first homes on the island, is now a fisherman and often films his sightings of Chinese ships and planes and shares them on Facebook.
Today, Thitu has a clinic, a school, a port, a runway, an evacuation center and a chapel. There are basketball courts, karaoke (though you have to stop singing before the 10 p.m. curfew) and neighborhood shops selling carbonated drinks and snacks. A new airport and tourist accommodation are being built. There is also a naval station and a new coast guard station to monitor traffic in this strategically important and resource-rich body of water.
The population has grown to 387 civilians, including about 98 school-age children, thanks in part to government incentives such as subsidized rice. That number does not include construction workers who move in temporarily for work. “It’s actually much better here,” said Hugo’s 14-year-old daughter, Abeguille. The island is small, just a mile long, so she can roam freely.
Titu said she is away from the bad influences of the main island of Palawan. “I want people to know that it’s beautiful here — it’s fun and joyful to live here.” In her free time, she walks on the beach with friends, plays volleyball and swims in the sea until she’s exhausted. After finishing her homework, her favorite place is the island’s wifi center, where she browses Facebook and TikTok. There’s no wifi at home, and mobile data on the island is spotty.
Abigail misses a few things about Palawan. She misses vanilla ice cream the most and craves CalderetaFilipino stews, and AdoboFish, usually made with pork or chicken. There is a small pig farm on Zhongye Island, but they only slaughter one pig a month, and they can’t eat far. She said that sometimes she eats fish every day and gets tired of it.
Life is simple on Thitu Island, a tiny speck in the sea that is vulnerable to natural disasters. “The weather is not always good for fishing. It rains a lot,” said Nasreen Guarin, a midwife assigned to the island in 2020. In July, a typhoon hit the area, dumping heavy rain for three to four weeks, forcing islanders to rely on a stockpile of canned food.
Bad weather not only prevented fishermen from going out to sea, it also meant the cancellation of Palawan Navy flights that regularly deliver food, including frozen foods. Some vegetables are grown on the island, including a type of bean, spinach and gourds, but fruit is scarce. Guarin said what she misses most is grapes.
There are no birthing facilities on Thitu Island either, and pregnant women must return to Palawan. But the midwife says resources have improved. The health budget increased from 50,000 pesos (£675) in 2020 to 1.4 million pesos (£18,900) last year. “I am overwhelmed by the 50,000 pesos I have to spend,” she said.
For Guarin, 28, and many others on the island, living on Thitu makes financial sense. She earns the same salary as her previous job in Palawan, but saving money is much easier here. “There are no malls, no shops, no restaurants,” she said. She has benefited from incentives the government has created to encourage people to stay on the island. Water is free, she doesn’t have to pay rent, and authorities provide 5 kilograms of rice for adults and 2 kilograms for children every 15 days.
Such financial assistance is intended to support families living on the front lines of the South China Sea dispute, who Philippine officials see as living proof of the country’s sovereignty over Thitu Island, which is claimed by Vietnam, Taiwan and China but where tensions are by far the most acute.
“The presence of civilians is very important,” said Lt. Col. Jheffrie Legaspi, head of the Pag-asa Joint Task Force. “According to UN regulations, the military cannot attack any civilian buildings because they are not combatants.”
Guarin hopes to stay until she can retire early. But she is aware of the tensions with China. Earlier this year, she watched the news as the Philippines repeatedly accused Chinese ships of stealing goods. Aggressive and dangerous “My mother-in-law called me and told me to ‘leave.’ Many friends and classmates chatted with me and asked me how I was doing,” she said. She told them it was far from Thitu Island.
“I didn’t think they would bomb us because there is a community here, there are people here (on the island). But we thought, when will we be called up and asked to leave,” she said. “They make their presence felt. They are getting closer,” Guarin said of the Chinese vessels. At night, she also saw lights that she believed to be drones flying overhead.
China’s ambitions in the waters are evident as Philippine air force personnel fly on maritime patrol aircraft that also carry residents to and from the mainland, close to nearby Chinese-occupied islands that have been transformed by military construction projects.
Just 12 nautical miles from Thitu Island is Subi Reef, one of seven artificial islands China has developed in the South China Sea. It was once just a remote coral atoll visible only at low tide. Today, China has reclaimed an estimated 976 acres of land.
According to the analysis, the base has a 3,000-meter runway (large enough to accommodate military aircraft), hangars for more than 20 fighter jets, underground storage tunnels (possibly used to store ammunition), high-frequency radar arrays (providing protection from air defense or missile attacks), reinforced structures with retractable roofs, believed to be shelters for mobile missile launchers, as well as communications facilities and a lighthouse. Asian Maritime Transparency Initiative.
When a plane flies over islands and reefs such as Sabina Shoal that belong to the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, the network provider will send a text message welcoming you to China and providing data roaming services.
On Thitu Island, where the Philippines’ claim to sovereignty lies with the people rather than military installations, fisherman Rolly de la Cruz said: “As long as we are here, we can say it is ours.”
He is used to seeing Chinese ships in small wooden boats. He said he was monitored by Chinese coast guard vessels last Sunday. “They were there for about four to five hours. We were fishing, they were watching, and they also sent a helicopter to hover around us,” he said.
“Most of us are worried, most people in Palawan are worried,” Dela Cruz added. “Some kids say they want to be soldiers when they grow up because they see how we live.”
Realyn Limbo, a teacher at the island school, said the children are not afraid of the tension but are curious about it. “It’s normal for them,” she said. “I tell them not to mind it.” For seven years, she has been the only teacher on the island, and she stays because of the children. “I see the children’s enthusiasm for learning,” she said. “They are more energetic here.” Most children leave when they are old enough to go to college, she said.
Abagail will soon finish 10th grade and hopes to go to high school on Palawan, which offers specialized science, technology, engineering and math courses. She wants to be a flight attendant or an architect. In the future, she hopes to build another school on the island so that more subjects can be chosen. “Then parents won’t have to worry about sending their children to the mainland to go to school,” she said. She said she wants to return to the island after she finishes her studies.
Her father said it was difficult to express his love for Thitu Island in words. The fishermen’s lives have become more complicated. Philippine officials said radio communications between the Philippine Coast Guard and the Chinese Coast Guard are ongoing day and night. There are areas that Thitu fishing boats simply cannot enter because of the Chinese presence.
“Over time, I’ve seen improvements on the island. That’s why I stayed here so long,” he said. Whatever happens, Hugo is determined to stay. “We are ready to sacrifice on Pagasa Island. We will fight as long as we are able.”
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