Philippines expands South China Sea footprint with permanent Thitu Island base

The Philippine Coast Guard unveiled on Thursday its first dedicated command centre in the Spratly island chain, a flashpoint in the disputed China-sea" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="8346" data-entity-type="location">South China Sea that has been the site of repeated confrontations with Chinese vessels.The headquarters of a newly established coastguard district, formerly overseen from neighbouring Palawan, will cover an area of about 68,000 sq km (26,000 sq miles).A journalist travelling to the new command centre on Thitu Island, known as Pagasa in the Philippines, saw multiple Chinese Coast Guard vessels patrolling nearby waters. The vessels issued radio warnings to the plane carrying the journalist.Beijing claims the China-sea" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="8346" data-entity-type="location">South China Sea in nearly its entirety, despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.People attend the “activation” ceremony of the Philippine Coast Guard command centre on Thitu Island on Thursday. Photo: AFPPagasa will now have a commodore-level commander on site, Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Ronnie Gil Gavan told reporters after a Thursday “activation” ceremony, along with a permanently stationed ship, more response vessels and an unspecified number of specialists.“The establishment of the coastguard district here will also enhance the psyche, the mindset of each and every coastguard member, that … the defence of Kalayaan island group is a top priority,” Gavan said, using the Filipino name for the Spratlys.