President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the military to improve its facilities on the disputed Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Saturday. In particular, Lorenzana said the President wanted the 1.3-kilometer runway on Pag-asa Island paved. The island has been described as the country’s “unsinkable aircraft carrier” in the Spratlys. At 37 hectares, Pag-asa is the biggest island occupied by the Philippines in the Spratlys. It is 34 hours away by boat from Rizal town, in Palawan province.

Tubeza, P. C. (2017, March 19). Duterte orders afp to improve military facilities in the Spratlys. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A3.