PUERTO PRINCESA CITY - If a Chinese frigate fired a rocket at the rusting, World War II- era Philippine Navy vessel BRP Sierra Madre stuck like a barricade on the Philippine-held Ayungin Reef in the West Philippine Sea, the nearby island of Pag-asa or even the nearest mainland Palawan town of Quezon would not hear a thing. Not even the slightest noise. This scenario underscores, to the mayor of the Philippines’ Kalayaan Island Group--symbol of its claim in the West Philippine Sea—the need to ensure that amid reports of continuing aggression by other claimant countries, residents of the isles must be afforded every means to live in peace and develop the resources in the area. Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon Jr. is no stranger to the tension that has hounded the KIG, since the Spratlys Group of Islands that China claims wholly became a flashpoint in maritime conflict in the region. Still, he would rather dwell on what can be done to cement the Philippine stake: for starters, by transforming the biggest island Pag-asa into a prosperous community, much like what Vietnam and China have done to other islands they occupied in the Spratlys. The past two years Mayor Bito-onon, in between monitoring and reporting aggression by fishing or military boats of other claimants, has lobbied Manila and private groups to invest in a comprehensive development plan for Pag-asa. While Bito-onon pursues his socioeconomic blueprint, the Armed Forces of the Philippines is in constant preparation for the worst—armed conflict—even as soldiers scattered around the reefs and atolls in the KIG live in peace in this last frontier of sorts. According to a senior military source, given a scenario where information reaches the Armed Forces of, for example, a Chinese frigate launching a rocket at the rusting, World War II-era BRP Sierra Madre that the military has used as some sort of barricade at the entrance to Ayungin Reef, the Western Command will await a guidance order from higher ups before they set in motion their courses of action. interaksyon/article/63835/araw-ng-kalayaan--an-island-awaits-genuine-freedom----from-want
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 17:48:21 +0000
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