Voyage to dangerous ground, the Spratlys
MANILA, Philippines — The Spratly Islands, one of the world’s most hotly contested zones, is around 800 kilometers from Manila (or double the distance to Laoag and half the distance to Davao City). It’s a place so distant that one crosses into a different time zone to get to its furthest tip, the Philippine island of Pag-Asa, that is part of the Kalayaan isles of Palawan in the West Philippine Sea. Ayungin Shoal, where the BRP Sierra Madre is beached in defense of Filipino territory, is halfway to Pag-Asa.
