The latest annual Philippine budget allocated 1.65 billion pesos (US$27 million) to develop the airport as well as 300 million pesos for work on a sheltered port.
More than 1 billion pesos has separately been earmarked for another sheltered port facility on Nanshan Island, which is around 160km (100 miles) east of Thitu Island.
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The money will help fund the extension of Thitu’s sole airstrip to 1.5km, enough to be used by some variants of the F-16 fighter as well as light combat and transport planes.
Thitu Island, known to Manila as Pag-asa and to China as Zhongye, is the largest feature occupied by Manila in the region. It plays host to a coastguard station equipped with radars and other monitoring equipment as well as around 200 civilians.
“For the Chinese side, the equation will somewhat change, as it means that the Chinese maritime presence in those contested areas will no longer easily go unchallenged,” said Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
Koh said the upgrades would help the Philippine coastguard to challenge Chinese maritime forces in the area, but this brought an increased risk of close encounters and potential escalation.
