Troops to upgrade Kalayaan facilities

MANILA, Philippines - Specialized military units will undertake the construction of new facilities on Kalayaan Island in the disputed Spratlys archipelago, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Friday.

In response to President Duterte’s directive that facilities on Kalayaan be upgraded, Lorenzana said the Philippine Navy’s Seabees as well as engineering and construction personnel from the Philippine Air Force would be tapped to lead the repair of existing facilities and the construction of new ones – including a dock for larger vessels.

“We must first construct the so-called beaching ramp because if that facility is not yet ready, then we cannot bring in LST (Landing Ship Tank) to bring building materials due to lack of docking facilities,” Lorenzana said. He said he hopes such facility would be ready before the onset of the rainy season.

Actual construction work, the defense chief said, is set to begin next week. Included in the upgrading work is the concreting of – and possibly extending – the island’s 1,300-meter runway. He said earlier P1.6 billion has been earmarked for the project.

When told that China might protest the action, Lorenzana said he didn’t think so pointing to the massive infrastructure development on an artificial island built by the Chinese over Zamora (Subi) Reef.

“You’ve seen Subi Reef. We’re lagging far behind,” Lorenzana said. Subi is some 12 nautical miles from Pag-Asa.

“We should have done this before but we did not because we have to observe a moratorium, so as not to affect the case that we filed before the Permanent Court of Arbitration,” he said. The arbitral court issued a ruling in July last year reaffirming the Philippines’ entitlements in the West Philippine Sea and invalidating China’s expansive maritime claims.

Supplies brought in by Navy ships to Pag-Asa have to be transferred to smaller boats as there is no safe harbor in the island-community. The same procedure has to be followed for supplying the Philippines’ eight other outposts in the West Philippine Sea.

Also being eyed for the island are solar panels, power generators, desalination plants, an ice storage plant, new quarters for the troops, and a research and shelter center for the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.