Top officials and visitors who went to the Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea this week received a surprise on their mobile phones. “Welcome to China,” one message said as their phones went on roaming. “Welcome to Vietnam,” said another. The messages, picked up because of a weak local signal in the area, were particularly ironic as the group of visitors were led by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and top military officials, who were there to inaugurate a beaching ramp that will make it easier to deliver materials to make repairs on the island. Pag-asa, part of the municipality of Kalayaan under the jurisdiction of the Palawan provincial government, is within the Kalayaan Island Group, a cluster of islets claimed by the Philippines.

Welcome to China. (2020, June 11). Manila Standard, p. B1.