Philippine lawmakers yesterday flew to an island in the disputed Spratly chain, despite warnings from China that the trip would destabilize the region and damage ties.
Five congressional members, joined by a small party of soldiers, local officials and journalists, arrived on Thitu Island aboard two private planes and raised two Philippine flags above a government building.
Philippine Representative Walden Bello said the delegation came to promote a peaceful solution to the territorial dispute, but added that Filipinos who know the island as “Pag-asa” are ready to defend “Philippine” territory.
“We come in peace, we support a diplomatic solution. But let there be no doubt in anybody’s mind, in any foreign powers’ mind, that if they dare to eject us from Pag-asa ... Filipinos will not take that sitting down,” he said.
“Filipinos are born to resist aggression. Filipinos are willing to die for their soil,” the congressman said.
Bello also said their plane flew over other islands in the Spratlys claimed by the Philippines, but discreetly kept its distance.
The visit to the flat, wind-swept island comes as tensions rise over the Spratlys chain, which is wholly or partially claimed by Taiwan, the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia.
Thitu is the largest of the -Philippine-occupied islands in the Spratlys, an archipelago believed to sit on vast natural resources and which also straddles shipping lanes vital to world trade.
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