The Philippine defense secretary and military chief of staff visited a Philippine-occupied island in the South China Sea on Friday to assert the country’s claim to the heartland of a disputed area where China is believed to have added missiles on man-made islands.
PAG-ASA, Philippines — The Philippine defense secretary and military chief of staff visited a Philippine-occupied island in the South China Sea on Friday to assert the country’s claim to the heartland of a disputed area where China is believed to have added missiles on man-made islands.
The trip led by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on an air force C-130 aircraft to the island Filipinos call Pag-asa will likely infuriate China, which has claimed virtually the entire sea and aggressively tried to fortify its foothold, to the consternation of rival claimant governments and the United States.
President Rodrigo Duterte has said China dissuaded him from flying to the island, also known internationally as Thitu, to raise his country’s flag when the Philippines celebrates its Independence Day on June 12 .
