'Under pressure,' Duterte vows to occupy uninhabited islands
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday ordered the occupation of uninhabited islands and shoals it claims in the disputed South China Sea, an act Chinese observers say shows that he is under great pressure from pro-U.S. forces in the country.
"The unoccupied, which are ours, let's live on it," Duterte told reporters during a visit to a military base in Palawan, near the disputed waters.
"It looks like everyone is making a grab for the islands there. So we better live on those that are still unoccupied. What's ours now, we claim it and make a strong point from there."
Pro-U.S. forces in the U.S. are exerting great pressure on Duterte in both domestic affairs like extrajudicial execution and international affairs such the South China Sea disputes, Zhuang Guotu, head of the Center of Southeast Asian Studies at Xiamen University, told the Global Times.
Duterte said he might visit the island of Thitu, the largest of the Philippine-controlled the Nansha Islands, and build a barracks for servicemen operating in the area.
Duterte was trying to make a statement that he is safeguarding the Philippines' sovereignty by saying he would visit the islands, under the pressure from his political opponents, said Zhuang.
"Actually the islands he mentioned are already under the control of the Philippines. It's natural if the Philippines deploys troops on these islands," Zhuang said, adding that Duterte didn't talk about the Huang Yan island, which is the most prominent issue in the conflicts between China and the Philippines.
Duterte announced his "separation" from the U.S. in October, declaring he had realigned with China as the two agreed to resolve their South China Sea dispute through talks.
His efforts to engage China in themselves marked a reversal in foreign policy.
