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China Expected to Ignore Philippine Protest over Upgrade of a Disputed Islet

Ralph Jennings

   TAIPEI, TAIWAN - China is expected to ignore a Philippine protest
   against creation of an "administrative center" on a disputed islet
   because Manila has few means to follow up, but the outcry could
   throttle Beijing's eventual pursuit of more legal control over Asia's
   most hotly disputed sea.

   The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs on April 30 rejected
   China's "illegal designation" of Fiery Cross Reef as an administrative
   center, according to the department's website. Chinese officials point
   to historical usage records as support for their claims to numerous
   features in the South China Sea where the reef in question is located.

   China will ignore the April 30 protest because the Philippines lacks
   the military might or diplomatic clout to force its hand, South China
   Sea watchers say.

   "China will do what it wants to do, the Philippines will protest, and
   these incidents will continue again," said Eduardo Araral, associate
   professor at the National University of Singapore's public policy
   school. "But the only thing the Philippines can do at this moment is
   just protest."

   Fiery Cross Reef, a human-built islet of 274 hectares, supports a
   runway and has received flights from the Chinese mainland. It's one of
   three major islets that Beijing controls in the Spratly archipelago, a
   group of tiny features in the South China Sea. The Philippines controls
   10 islets in the same chain, which is valued for fisheries and energy
   reserves.

   The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam all contest at
   least part of China's claims to about 90% of the surrounding 3.5
   million-square-kilometer sea. China landfilled Fiery Cross Reef among
   other features before 2017 to step up its military and civilian
   presence.

   China has the region's strongest armed forces plus the budget to
   overtake other maritime claimants in building disputed islets for human
   use.

   Since Rodrigo Duterte became Philippine president in 2016, the
   Philippine government seldom protests openly to Beijing over
   sovereignty disputes as the two presidents tried to improve relations.