Marker, not flag, removed from Spratlys sandbar — military

MANILA, Philippines - The military has removed what appeared to be a makeshift marker – not a Chinese flag – from a sandbar near Kota Island, an area occupied by Filipino soldiers in the disputed Spratlys.

The marker was a four-foot-high bamboo pole with a mesh bag full of empty plastic bottles.  

“It was not a Chinese flag. It was just an indigenous pole with sort of plastics and sacks which to our assessment was put up to serve as a guide to seafarers,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Eduardo Año said.

Earlier, Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano said the Chinese had planted their flag in the area. It was not yet clear, however, who had placed the marker.

Año said he is confident the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has enough troops for the nine military outposts in the disputed region.

He added improvement plans for the outposts would push through, beginning with Pag-asa Island.

Told that China might protest, Año said the AFP would only be making improvements in facilities and is definitely not occupying new land features.

Alejano earlier bared a swarming presence of Chinese vessels near the island municipality of Kalayaan, a fifth class town in the island province of Palawan.

The AFP and the Department of National Defense (DND) have downplayed warnings from Alejano and other individuals that Chinese presence in Philippine waters was tantamount to an invasion.

A senior security official, who asked not to be named, said the AFP is silently engaged in activities meant to protect the country’s sovereignty without stoking tensions in the region.

“There are scores of activities being done in the region by the soldiers that would serve the country good if it is not known publicly,” the official said.