Philippines will start the port and Airstrip development in Spratlys

The Philippines has finally determined its destiny to develop its territory to make it more accessible and open to all Filipinos who want to visit and see or tour to the controversial disputed Spratlys archipelago.

The Philippines must be thankful of China' Challenges to the country otherwise the country would be remain behind from all neighboring countries in Asia.

The act of aggressive invasion of China towards Philippines territory wakes up the Filipinos that the time has come to defend and time has come to have a good posture that the Philippines is an independent country and capable to defend its territory.

Finally, the Philippines have decided to develop the Kalayaan Municipality which worried china as they have already invested in their invasion to the undeveloped Philippines territory in Palawan province.

Last year 2011, china tried to delete the old history of the Spratlys archipelago by buying all antique maps around the world that could have a different name of the Spratlys and replaced it with a name Nansha to support the china's claim base on their self coined history for Spratlys.

Any map that would be different from what china proclaimed as the old spratlys were burned but still the UNCLOS is the strongest strength of the scared neighbor to stand and face the china's challenges.

China has expressed concern over the Philippines' plan to build a beaching ramp in the Kalayaan island group in the West Philippine Sea.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China warned on Thursday against any move by claimants that may complicate the dispute.

"China claimed that it has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands or the Spratly islands and their adjacent waters. China opposes any country's illegal activities that infringe upon China's sovereignty over the Nansha Islands," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei in a press conference in Beijing.

The china's claim for indisputable sovereignty in the spratlys is the same as claiming having indisputable sovereignty over the Philippines as the Spratlys is in the Philippine Territory.

Beijing for the national pride of china strengthen is stance in claiming the islands and waters of the Philippines territory after they submitted to the United Nations the 9 dotted lines claiming most part of the Spratlys including the Philippines territory in 2009.

Beijing China has no way to back out as it could be a big shame to the world if they will back out its claim of the Philippines territory. Even though their claim is not according to the international law of seas (UNCLOS) and considered as illegal expansion by the international communities but still Beijing insist as they are now the world super power to admit defeat against small country like the Philippines.

The Philippines municipal government of Kalayaan, in coordination with the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), will construct within the year a beaching ramp on Pag-asa, the largest of the Kalayaan group, which has been occupied by Filipino troops for decades. Apart from the troops, there are about 70 Filipino families living in Kalayaan, which is a municipality of Palawan.

Hong said Beijing is opposed to the Philippines' plan to build a simple wharf on Pag-asa, which China calls Zhongye and considers part of the Nansha Islands or the Spratly islands.

"Relevant countries should abide by the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea) and avoid taking any move that may complicate the dispute so as to jointly maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea," he said.

Though Beijing is calling the ASEAN nations to abide the Declaration of Conduct (DOC) China itself keep violation it by harassing Filipino Fishermen in the Philippines waters and sending their warship in the area.

Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon of the municipality of Kalayaan in Palawan, which has jurisdiction over Pag-asa and other islets in the Spratlys, said the PPA would construct a beach ramp with the help of the Philippine Navy.

Bito-onon, who was visiting Manila last 3^rd week of March 2012 for a series of coordinating conferences with concerned government agencies for the development of the island town, said the construction of the beaching ramp has been long delayed.

He said the island municipality needs the beaching ramp for easier delivery of supplies for local residents.

Once the ramp becomes operational, Bito-onon said this would further enhance the development of the area as roll-off/roll-on (RORO) vessels could be used to deliver and unload their cargo to the island municipality.

In the absence of a beaching ramp in Pag-asa, cargo delivered by boat from mainland Palawan are hauled ashore by smaller boats.

He said construction of the beaching ramp and the repair of the 1.3-kilometer airstrip are part of ongoing efforts to develop existing facilities in the Municipality of Kalayaan, Province of Palawan.

Classified as a 6th class municipality of Palawan, Kalayaan has a regulated population of 67 families, mostly fishermen, aside from the soldiers who are deployed in the area.

At present, the island has a water-filtering plant, power generators, weather station and a private telecommunication tower of Smart Telecommunications.

Aside from the Filipino military contingent, other claimant countries except Brunei has deployed forward troops in their occupied islets and atolls in the archipelago to bolster their respective territorial claims in the region.

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Philippines Air bases open for US Forces - P3C Orion planes deploy in Spratlys

In return for more Military warfare's to protect the Philippines territory, the country  is offering the United States greater access to its airfields and may open new areas for soldiers to use, as the Pacific country seeks stronger military ties with its closest ally, moves likely to further raise tensions with China.

In exchange for opening its bases, the Philippines will ask Washington for more military equipment and training, including a another Hamilton-class warship and possibly a squadron of old F-16 jet fighters, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said.

"As part of building up our minimum credible defense posture, we would like the Americans to come more often," del Rosario said in an interview at his office near Manila Bay.

Manila favors more frequent joint military drills, he said. One such exercise, which will be staged on western island Palawan for the first time, is scheduled for April 16.

"Let's have these joint training exercises more frequently and on a bigger scale. As many times as we can, in different places if we can, that's the objective of the exercise," del Rosario said, the first official confirmation of talks between the countries on increasing the U.S. military presence in the Philippines.

Disputes in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea) are Southeast Asia's biggest security concern after a series of naval clashes over the vast region believed to be rich in energy reserves.

Chinese navy ships threatened to ram a Philippine research vessel last March 2011, prompting Manila to scramble planes and ships to the area. After that, Philippine President Benigno Aquino started building closer ties with Washington, which has signaled a military "pivot" back to Asia.

Del Rosario said the possible purchase of F-16s and the request for a third cutter for the coast guard would be among issues up for discussion at a meeting between the two sides on April 30 in Washington.

The U.S. is also looking into gaining access, under a "joint use" arrangement, to around half a dozen civilian airfields in the Philippines, where U.S. transports, fighters and spy planes can land for repairs, refueling and temporary deployment.

The talks, between among foreign and defense leaders, will precede a meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Philippine President Benigno Aquino later this year.

USA-Philippines partnership in intelligence operation over the Disputed Seas

In the last 10 years, the Philippines has received about 22 billion pesos ($512.22 million) in U.S. military aid, Del Rosario said.

Washington is Manila's closest and only strategic security partner, since the two countries signed a mutual defense treaty six years after the Philippines won its independence from the United States.

Del Rosario said he welcomed closer intelligence cooperation in the West Philippines Sea, after the U.S. last year proposed deploying P3C Orion reconnaissance planes to patrol disputed areas of the Spartlys.

"I think any method of cooperation that will provide us additional intelligence in terms of maritime domain awareness is good for us. The more information, the better," he said.

Australia announced last March 29, 2012 that  it could allow U.S. spy flights to operate from a remote Indian Ocean island, the Cocos Island which is located just adjacent of the Southern Philippines.

Manila hopes China will not feel threatened by its increased defense cooperation with Washington.

"We expressed our satisfaction when China was in the process of building up its military, increasing its military budget," Del Rosario said.

"We expect that China, in the same way, would be happy to be able to see the Philippines trying to, in some measure, build up its own capabilities to be able to protect its own sovereignty."

The United States deploys about 600 commandos in the southern Philippine. Del Rosario said it was possible there would be an increase in the number of U.S. troops, aircraft and ships visiting the Philippines, but the two sides were not discussing setting up permanent U.S. bases in the country.

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