China, Vietnam building military structures in Spratlys

MANILA, Philippines - As the Philippine government is busy mending fences with Taiwan, China on the other hand is busy constructing military structures at Union Bank, a chain of reefs in the hotly contested Spratlys region.

Kalayaan Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon yesterday said that Union Bank, a wide body of shallow water located well within the country’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), is now teeming with construction activities not only by the Chinese but also by the Vietnamese.

“That’s the report I’ve been receiving from our local fishermen coming from that area. They are building military structures,” Bito-onon said.

Aside from its military garrison in Mischief Reef, China has already established and fortified its military structure in Subi Reef, as it has already completed construction of a three-story building, wharfs and a helipad. Subi is located only 26 nautical miles off Kalayaan town in Pag-Asa Island.

Continuous monitoring at the West Philippine Sea region has registered an increase in the presence of Chinese warships in the area.

China’s naval deployment coincided with the recent pronouncement of a senior Chinese general that the killing of the Taiwanese fisherman by PCG personnel can already be considered as an attack on China since Taiwan is a Chinese territory.