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.
It’s a mind-bending 33-hour trip that embeds you in real-time in the newspaper headlines of the conflicts between the axe-wielding sailors of the China Coast Guard and our steadfast men of the Philippine Navy.
Caught in the middle, and forgotten by most news coverage, are the real-life Filipinos who live and work on Pag-Asa Island – which means ‘Hope’ in Filipino and was also the alias of one of the country’s most beloved heroes, Andres Bonifacio, who used the codename “May Pag-Asa” for himself. Against all odds, and the push and pull of international diplomacy, this valiant little Filipino community continues to live their lives in astonishing normalcy and the spirit of hope for an untroubled life.
On the horizon lurk the outlines of the menacing witnesses to the colorful tapestry that is most beloved of Filipino life, town fiestas and tiny tots at play, beauty queens and cooking contests and moveable feasts. In contrast – like a gigantic spoiler alert – a Chinese armada daily makes their presence felt in the near distance through shadowy naval maneuvers and swarms of military fishing vessels that ram the coral reefs and deplete the waters of its life-giving catch. After sunset, there are other ships so brightly lit that they often eclipse the night stars.
This reportage is from a group of “adventure tourists,” including documentary photographer Paul Quiambao, who recently made the trip to Pag-Asa, sailing from the Palawan port of Bataraza. The journey begins with a six-hour, bone-jarring trip by land from Puerto Princesa, the provincial capital, to catch a lancha (or power-driven launch) named the MB Lady Hadzraima II. It’s a flat-deck vessel with wide
