Rodrigo Duterte
The President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte ordered to deploy troops on the territory of disputed Islands in the South China sea (SCS). On Thursday, April 6, reports the South China Morning Post. According to the head of the state, it is about nine or ten Islands.
“The impression is that everyone is trying to grab these Islands, so we better be living on those still open,” he explained.
The President previously announced his intention to visit one of them and raise over them the Philippine flag. The trip was planned to coincide with the independence Day of the Philippines, which is celebrated in mid-June.
Duterte before also stated that he is going to build a barracks on the island Titus, one of the Islands of the Spratly archipelago, which China is building military bases.
Islands in the South China sea are the subject of a territorial dispute between China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Philippines, Brunei and Vietnam. Most tense is the situation around the Scarborough reef, also South of the Spratly archipelago, which is believed rich in oil and gas.
On 12 July the court of arbitration in the Hague has determined that Beijing has no right to the disputed territory in the South China sea. In response, the President of China, XI Jinping stated that the Islands in the South China sea since ancient times are an integral territory of China.