Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana rejected on Tuesday the observations of a United States-based think tank which said that the presence of Chinese boats allegedly disguised as militias was among the factors why development works in Pagasa Island in the West Philippine Sea face continuous delay.
Lorenzana maintained that the natural features of the island and the bad weather made it hard for the contractor to finish the development of a beaching ramp and runway in Pagasa Island.
“There was a big problem at the initial stage of the Pagasa rehabilitation project,” Lorenzana told reporters.
He explained that the seabed – the ocean floor or the ground under the sea – where the beaching ramp was to be built was found to be “so hard” that the contractors had to bring in an appropriate drilling equipment.
“When work finally started, it was slow because of this problem,” Lorenzana said.
The Defense chief added that the seas in the Spratly Islands (Kalayaan Island Group) “are usually rough” that the contractor’s barges can only transport materials within a small window of time from January to April or May.
Pagasa is the biggest island occupied by Filipino soldiers and a small fishing community in the Spratly archipelago.
China has successfully militarized seven reefs being claimed by the Philippines in Spratly Islands in a bid to assert its dominance in the entire South China Sea.
“After that, it depends on the weather,” Lorenzana said.
Last week, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS-AMTI) based in Washington, US reported that from December 2018 to March 2020, Chinese boats have continuously swarmed Pagasa Island, according to satellite imagery it has collected and analyzed.
It said that Chinese boats harass and intimidate Filipino ships in Pagasa, which contributed to the delay of the development in the island.
“I do not know where AMTI’s allegation came from. It’s totally false,” Lorenzana said. (Martin Sadongdong)
