PH military denies beefing up Spratlys garrison

MANILA, Philippines – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) denied having deployed hundreds of new troops to guard the Kalayaan group of islands in the South China Sea.

AFP Western Command spokesman Maj Neil Estrella said that in the past few days only 77 members of a Marine brigade have been sent to the disputed islands, not 800 men.

Estrella told reporters that the 3rd Marine Brigade brigade, which arrived last Friday in Palawan from Sulu, consists of 77 personnel, more than half of them women and technical, construction and logistics personnel assigned to the headquarters support staff.

The brigade was brought to Kalayaan primarily to oversee the operations of two Marine battalions that have been deployed “for quite some time now” on the island-province, where the AFP maintains a “minimal force,” he added.

‘Defensive measure’

On Sunday, the Agence France-Presse wire service quoted WestCom chief Lt Gen Juancho Sabban as saying that 800 new Marines had been sent to the Spratlys.

Sabban clarified however that the deployment was only meant as a defensive measure and should not be seen as provoking China, which also claims the territory.

Estrella said the report was “erroneous” and “has now become a serious concern for us” since it could cause alarm and trigger renewed tension with the Chinese.

“It is not helping us. This might create a situation where others may get offended,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Estrella insisted that Lt Gen Sabban “never mentioned 800 marines. The two marine battalions, consisting of 400 personnel each, have been here years ago.”

Chinese claim

Straddling vital shipping lanes and believed sitting atop vast reserves of mineral deposits, including oil, the Spratlys chain in the South China Sea has long been considered a flashpoint for conflict in the region.

Apart from the Philippines and China, the Spratlys are claimed in whole or in part by Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan. Beijing claims virtually all of the South China Sea, which the government now officially calls the West Philippine Sea.

The deployment issue near the Spratlys comes only two days after presidential special envoy and Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas met Chinese Vice President and leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping and both expressed hope that bilateral ties would improve.

Roxas said that while both sides reiterated their claim over Scarborough Shoal, another outcrop North of the Spratlys, the meetings were able to “reestablish what has been a frayed relationship.” – Rappler.com