China Challenges Student Occupation In South China Sea
Chinese military forces in the South China Sea amped up the dispute over the Spratlys with a firm challenge to a Philippine aircraft approaching Pagasa Island on Sunday. The plane, with a military doctor and a chaplain, was attempting to visit a group of students occupying the island.
Pagasa is about a dozen nautical miles from Subi Reef, the site of a major Chinese installation and the focus of a patrol by the U.S. destroyer Lassen in October. In their radio calls, Chinese forces near Subi cited a security area surrounding the reef. As the Philippine plane transited airspace in the area, its passengers heard “repeated radio threats and challenges from the Chinese navy on our plane to go away,” according to a Facebook post by military chaplain Fr. Joey Sepe. “This is our land, these are our Filipino people. They belong to God and they belong to the Philippines. So, China you go away, not us,” he added.
The challenge is part of frequent Chinese assertions regarding its territorial claims in the region. Military assets of multiple nations, including the U.S., Australia, and the Philippines, have reported similar radio calls during freedom of navigation (FONOPS) transits in the Spratly Islands.
Military analysts suggest that the Chinese construction projects on Subi Reef – especially the artificial island's new runway, which is to military dimensions – threaten the ability of the Philippines to retain Pagasa Island. “If they are able to operate this [facility], they can seal off the area and conduct a blockade. The Chinese can prohibit an aircraft from landing on [Pagasa],” expert Jose Custodio told reporters in September.
The 50-odd students on the island are with the group Kalayaan ATIN ITO, led by an ex-marine captain, and they are occupying Pagasa in order to call attention to Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea. “We encourage the highest leadership of the country to inform the people correctly without sugar coating the truth about Chinese invasion of our Exclusive Economic Zone,” the group said in a Facebook post.
Philippine authorities attempted to discourage the occupation, but in an interview over state-run dzRB radio, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said that the government hopes and prays for their safe journey. “We will monitor their actions and give appropriate help if necessary,” he said, despite Kalayaan’s unsanctioned actions.
The Philippine government was concerned about China's reaction to the trip as Manila has been trying to calm tensions over the Spratly Islands.
The Philippines has challenged Beijing before the arbitration court in The Hague, a case Beijing has not recognized. China claims the majority of the South China Sea and has multiple installations on disputed islands. While it claims that it has no intention of militarizing the area, experts say that Chinese air defense radars are now located on island territories rather than on naval assets.