KALAYAAN TOWN & SANSHA CITY: A COMPARISON... Understanding the strategic implications in the West Philippine Sea utilizing peaceful means, comparing our small town as a STAND with the other SIDE with a much better-funded, more politically complex Chinese city in the disputed area... One of the Philippines poorest municipalities, Kalayaan in Palawan, is facing off with Chinas new Sansha City that governs the disputed South China Sea... In a phone interview with Rappler, Kalayaan Mayor Eduardo Bito-onon said his town is “no match” to Chinas new prefectural-level city that will soon elect its congress... Sansha City includes areas claimed by the Philippines, such as portions of the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal... Bito-onon said, We lag behind... The municipality of Kalayaan is fifth class. Their island has the budget of a city. Kalayaan town, which is part of the disputed Spratlys, thrives on an annual Internal Revenue Allotment of P37-M that covers government salaries, among other things. It also receives an P8-M annual development fund for basic services... The budget is big – if only the towns population is to be factored in. Its population is 114, based on the latest government statistics... It is, however, also of strategic importance to the Philippines, given Chinas show of force in the South China Sea... China is fortifying Sansha, which, as a lower-level government unit in the past, had already received comparatively huge amounts... Beginning as a county-level administration office in 1959, the city has had enough money to build hotels, a supermarket, restaurants, an insurance company, and even 3G spots... In February 2014 alone, Sansha spent 2.2-M yuan or P14.3-M – roughly a third of Kalayaans annual budget – to build diesel oil power regulators... Bito-onon said Kalayaan town, on the other hand, has a dilapidated airstrip, a 5-bed lying-in clinic, and a small kindergarten school... He said it lacks funds to build supposed essentials like a sheltered harbor, for livelihood and tourism, that could cost P300-M... The mayor said, We do not get enough from the national government in terms of infrastructure, support... What we hold on to is fortitude.... Funding is not the only challenge facing Kalayaan... The political structure of Sansha is also more complex, an indication of power over the disputed islands... Such intentional display of power and authority over the territory is a means to prove its ownership, said international law expert Dr Suzette Suarez in a forum over the weekend... In addition to this is a continuous and peaceful exercise of jurisdiction and state functions... Suarez, however said political structure is only one of the factors in claiming ownership. “Its not going to be the only decisive factor... It depends on the state, how you argue the case,” she said... Suarez, who used to work with the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, cited decisions that are not solely based on complex political structures... One such case is the Sovereignty over Pulau Ligitan and Pulau Sipadan, in which the International Court of Justice (ICJ) favored Malaysia over Indonesia... Infrastructure, thus, can also help Kalayaan... For one, Suarez said the establishment of a kindergarten school in the town, among other structures, can bolster the Philippines claim... It has a local population... It has a semblance of regular community life. In claiming Scarborough Shoal, the Philippines has also cited evidence of effective occupation and jurisdiction, such as the installation of Philippine flags and the construction of a lighthouse... The town of Masinloc, Zambales has jurisdiction over it, says the Philippines... This is a key in claiming territory, according to experts: for government to assert its presence... (Source: rappler/nation/8824-ph-town-no-match-vs-china-s-sansha) and thanks to Adroth DotPh, an active advocate for our countrys stand in the West Philippine...
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 02:27:28 +0000
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