Monitoring The Movement Of Chinese Ships And Planes, Philippines Builds Sophisticated Coast Guard Posts In The South China Sea

The inauguration of the new outpost of the Philippines in the South China Sea. (Twitter/@coastguardph)

JAKARTA - The Philippine Authority inaugurated a new coast guard post on the disputed island of Thitu in the South China Sea, to increase its ability to monitor the movement of Chinese ships and aircraft on the disputed busy waterway.

As tensions escalated over territorial claims in the region, Philippine coast guard earlier this year saw a Chinese naval vessel and dozens of militia ships around the island, one of Manila's nine occupied areas in the Spratly Islands.

Inaugurated on Friday, the new three-story facility is equipped with advanced technologies such as radar, automatic identification, satellite communications, and coastal cameras, the Philippine coast guard said in a statement.

"The behavior of Chinese coast guard, the Navy of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and Chinese militias is sometimes unpredictable," said Eduardo Ano, Philippines' national security adviser, during a visit to the island.

"They do not comply with the international order, the rule of law," he continued to reporters on Friday.

𝐏𝐂𝐆 𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒 𝐍𝐄𝐖, 𝐔𝐏𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐏𝐀𝐆-𝐀𝐒𝐀 𝐈𝐒𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃 🇵🇭The @coastguardph has inaugurated its new and upgraded Coast Guard Station Kalayaan Island Group in Pag-asa Island today, 01 December 2023. ✍️ https://t.co/8CTHsnqjIQ pic.twitter.com/EwqEd1Afw4

— Philippine Coast Guard (@coastguardph) December 1, 2023

𝐏𝐂𝐆 𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒 𝐍𝐄𝐖, 𝐔𝐏𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐏𝐀𝐆-𝐀𝐒𝐀 𝐈𝐒𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃 🇵🇭The @coastguardph has inaugurated its new and upgraded Coast Guard Station Kalayaan Island Group in Pag-asa Island today, 01 December 2023. ✍️ https://t.co/8CTHsnqjIQ pic.twitter.com/EwqEd1Afw4

"What they describe as a purely gray zone tactic of oppression and illegalness. This is unacceptable in the international order," he said.

Separately, the Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It is known that Manila's outpost in Thitu is the leading and most strategic post in the South China Sea, most of which Beijing claims, despite territorial claims conflicts by several regional countries.

Known locally as Pag-asa, Thitu is located about 300 miles (480 km) west of Palawan province, Philippines. The house for about 200 people was used by Manila to defend its territorial claim.

Apart from the Philippines, Brunei, China, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam also compete to claim sovereignty in the South China Sea, which is a shipping route worth more than 3 trillion US dollars annually.