MANILA - THE Philippines said on Tuesday it would upgrade a military airfield on an island that is part of a territorial dispute with China, but insisted the work had nothing to do with a recent spike in tensions.
Repairs to the deteriorating runway on Pag-asa, also known as Thitu, in the Spratly archipelago were needed to ensure supplies could continue to be flown to people living there, military spokesman Commodore Mike Rodriguez told AFP.
'It is a restoration job. We are not building anything new. We are repairing the damaged portions,' Mr Rodriguez said.
'We have a municipality there with civilians living on the island. We need to supply them with basic services.'
The 31-million-peso (S$902,000) repair of the runway on Pag-asa, one of the largest of the Spratly islands, is not related to recent tensions between the Philippines and China in the disputed South China Sea, Mr Rodriguez said.
The Philippines and China, along with Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam claim all or part of the Spratlys, which are believed to sit on vast mineral resources. -- AFP
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