Philippines Eyes Port and Airstrip Expansion in WPS Kalayaan Island Group to Deter China скачать в хорошем качестве

Philippines Eyes Port and Airstrip Expansion in WPS Kalayaan Island Group to Deter China

The Philippines’ planned port expansion and airstrip reinforcement on Pag-asa Island in the Kalayaan Island Group marks a decisive shift from symbolic occupation to strategic entrenchment in the West Philippine Sea. Situated within the contested Spratly Islands of the South China Sea, the upgrades enhance maritime logistics, berthing capacity, ISR reach, and operational tempo—transforming infrastructure into deterrence by durability. Framed against intensifying great power competition between China and the United States, the move counters gray-zone strategy, maritime militia pressure, and incremental coercion through sustained presence rather than escalation. Embedded within expanding U.S.–Philippines alliance geometry under EDCA and broader Indo-Pacific security architecture, the project strengthens sovereignty consolidation, Exclusive Economic Zone enforcement, fisheries and energy security, and long-term geo-economic leverage. In a theater defined by positional geopolitics and structural rivalry, Manila’s strategy centers on calibrated resistance, external balancing, and endurance as the new currency of power in contested waters#indopacificreport #WestPhilippineSea #SouthChinaSea #KalayaanIslandGroup #PagAsaIsland #SpratlyIslands #Philippines #MaritimeSecurity #Geopolitics #GreatPowerCompetition