Philippines starts bringing tourists to disputed Spratly Islands in South China Sea

SPRATLY ISLANDS: The Philippines is, for the first time, allowing tourism in areas it controls in the hotly contested Spratly Islands of the disputed South China Sea.

The islands which the Philippines has laid claim on are in the northeastern part of the Spratly archipelago, an area locally known as the Kalayaan Island Group of the West Philippine Sea.

The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their entirety by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines.

The seven-day tour aboard a dive yacht is dubbed the Great Kalayaan or Freedom Expedition, and costs more than US$2,000 per person.

But it does not make for a typical vacation. There are infrastructure gaps on most of the islands, including a lack of ports.

"The Great Kalayaan Expedition aims to open the vast West Philippine Sea for tourism,” said tour organiser Ken Hupanda. 

“Although the programme's aim is not exactly to create an aggressive move, we definitely believe that it gives some value to our claim (of the Kalayaan Islands).”

MAKING THE TRIP

The first paying tour group to make the journey from Jun 2 to Jun 8 was made up of media, academics and water sports enthusiasts like Filipino diver Bretch Garcinez.

"Nationalism plays an important role in the decision (to go for the tour) despite the cost. Because that place is very special, because every nation is looking at that place,” said Mr Garcinez.

The jump-off point is a restricted Philippine naval facility.

It took more than 30 hours for the group’s yacht to get to the first stop, a beautiful bird sanctuary called Lawak Island.

However, it was not the tour's main attraction. Instead, it was witnessing in person the maritime might of China, with sightings of a China Coast Guard vessel and other vessels that a Philippine Navy officer on board the yacht as a security escort identified as belonging to China.

The tour yacht owner, who monitored nearby vessels through the yacht's navigational tool, told reporters that at its closest, the China Coast Guard vessel was just 1.8km from the group’s yacht.

As they docked at Philippine-controlled Thitu, locally known as Pagasa or Hope island, the yacht's chief engineer Wilfredo Baladjay received an automated message from a Philippine telecom company welcoming him to China.

“I cannot accept why the island’s connection is with China. (Pagasa) is the Philippines. Why did it become China?” asked Mr Baladjay.

On land, the Philippine Navy team deployed to Thitu continuously challenged the Chinese vessel, urging it to leave the vicinity.

DEVELOPING TOURISM IN THE AREA

Some of the tourists then headed by speed boat to Sandy Cay, a group of three uninhabited sandbars claimed by both China and the Philippines. It is located between Thitu and Chinese-held Subi Reef and guarded by China’s vessels.

The 20-minute journey was not without nervous moments, as the tourists were worried they would be questioned by the Chinese.

But they docked without incident and the Filipinos onboard even waved the Philippine flag, bringing levity to an area considered a major regional flashpoint.

Tour participant Francois-Xavier Bonnet, a geographer, said it is time for the Philippines to develop tourism in the area.

“Countries like Malaysia have already developed tourism in the Spratly Islands. We know that Vietnam and China also developed some kind of tourism, but only for their own nationals,” said the associate researcher at the Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast Asia.