A Remote Island Outpost that is Part of a Geopolitical Fight (Encore)
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Thanks for listening to State of the World from NPR. We bring you the day's most vital international stories up close where they're happening. I'm Greg Dixon. Today, our story takes us to a place that even describing where it is on the globe gets political. It's an island in the middle of the South China Sea. But if you're from the Philippines, it's called the West Philippine Sea. This has been a contentious place. There have been disagreements over which country controls what, with China asserting itself in a big way.

So what is this place that gets global attention actually like? NPR's Emily Feng got rare access to one of these islands, and she's here with me. Hey, Emily. Hey, Greg. So just give me an idea of how remote we're talking here. How remote is this place?

So the island that you're talking about is called Thitu, and it's part of a cluster of islands called the Spratlys. And this is where China has been expanding its territorial claims. But the Philippines says it owns the Spratlys. And that tension has led to naval collisions between the two countries and, of course, raised fears of an armed conflict. Yeah.

And the standoff is especially heated around this one sleepy little island that I just mentioned, Situ, because it's occupied full-time by a civilian Filipino community. And they're there to prevent other countries from

namely China, from taking it. We're going to hear your story from there in a minute, but can you just briefly describe what it looks like? It's just over one mile long. Barely anything grows on it. A few coconut trees that unfortunately got torn down during the last typhoon. It is surrounded by these beautiful crystalline waters that used to have abundant coral reefs, unfortunately overfishing.

destroyed them as well as unfortunately Chinese construction on nearby underwater shoals and reefs. And there's a small community living in bamboo and wooden huts there. They get almost all their food and some of their water from boats that travel the 30 plus hours they need to from the mainland to the island. But they're there full time because they know as soon as they leave, China will claim the island. And

And I mean, you took this 30 plus hour trip out there. You just said it's in the middle of this geopolitical fight between China and the Philippines. Why here? Why does this place matter? It's about claiming land features, islands like Fitu, and by claiming them, getting access to the territorial waters around them. And these islands are right in the middle of important trade routes. They are right next to

pretty big fisheries and potentially huge oil and gas reserves. That's why countries like China, the Philippines, as well as Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, they've been fighting over these islands for literally centuries.

It's getting much more heated now. And so that's why I decided to take the boat ride myself, because I was just curious about what it's like to live on this very quiet, very remote island that everyone is fighting about. Let's listen to your story that takes us there.

In 1997, Judy Masagnay received marching orders to move to Fitu Island, or Pagasa as it's called in the Philippines. A spit of sand some 30 hours by boat from civilization in the middle of what Manila calls the West Philippine Sea.

It was like castaway. No electricity, no signal, no fresh water, and just six other people. But he found an inner peace. I liked it so much. I don't see myself living anywhere else because I love it here. 27 years later, he's still here, along with 227 full-time residents these days, including military personnel.

The community is a work in progress. They now have a school and health clinic and just got 24/7 electricity last year. And this Easter, their first ever Catholic Mass. It's all part of the Philippines' effort to seed what looks like an authentic community to bolster its territorial claim to the island.

Because on top of the typhoons and the loneliness, this tiny island is also claimed by other powers, most notably China. From morning until night, a handful of Chinese Coast Guard ships and fishing vessels float on the horizon patrolling Fitu Island, waiting for an opportunity to occupy it themselves.

Right now, the community of a few dozen bamboo huts carries with it the feeling of a tropical Jamestown or even a moon colony. Pioneers building a new society in pretty rough conditions.

The pioneers include Lea Valdez-Nacharal, now 50 years old. She moved to the island in 2002 to try growing fruits and vegetables. As of now, mom, we try to grow dragon fruit. She says the tiny island is now actually nearing capacity. And she says their simple existence is a political act.

allowing the Philippines to assert its identity and in recent years stake a claim against that of China's. We are Filipino community, so that's why we need to develop. It's a community the Philippines started laying the foundations for in the 1970s as a way to fend off competing claims from China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and France. Are you Kuya Larry? Yes.

Fisherman Larry Hugo is well aware of the tensions. He's a bit of an amateur blogger. And a decade ago, he was the first resident to film China's construction of an artificial reef nearby called Subi Reef. The Chinese are now the biggest problem.

If we were not here, perhaps the Chinese would claim and occupy Pagasa. That's why in 2023, the Philippines expanded its Coast Guard station on Thitu to face down a stronger-than-ever Chinese navy and Coast Guard. Here's the area's mayor, Roberto Del Mundo. I think it will come to war. When, I ask him. Maybe tomorrow or next year because of this status issue.

They're always harassing our fishermen and the military. Now the Philippines is stepping it up one more notch. Last year, Manila started allowing tourists to visit in the hopes of turning the remote island into a getaway for intrepid travelers. Tourism officer Ken Hupanda is helping lead this effort. You know, civilianize the place. He's got lots of ideas on how to rebrand the island. So we're planning to actually set a record.

for the longest sea urchin grill. But there's one problem. What is the Starlink problem? Starlink problems, yes. The Wi-Fi. The island is so remote, they're trying Starlink, Elon Musk's satellite communication service. But it keeps cutting out, and Hupanda's been in an epic back and forth with customer service. C2's weak connection to cell and Wi-Fi service, as I found out,

is one symptom of how tenuous the Philippines' claim on this island is. A fact I'm confronted with again when I head out to the ocean with resident Roli de la Cruz to try my hand at spearfishing. A one-hour sail out and we find ourselves among Chinese fishing vessels. Huge lights blaze from the boats used to attract shoals of fish. Is it like this every night? As of now, yes, because the weather is good.

So you can see all those lights around us. They're bright enough to create a glowing ring around Thitu Island, casting the night sky orange. It's a reminder that although this island may be occupied by the Philippines now, Chinese boats are always nearby.

That was a story by NPR's Emily Feng. And Emily, clearly the larger issues here are on people's minds. You had one resident, you know, mentioning war. What is it like, I don't know, considering big global world issues in such a rural, remote place? That was what fascinated me so much about this place is it feels a world away from politics.

People there are not worried. Many of them have been there for two plus decades and they say they've never seen a Chinese invasion and don't expect to.

But at the same time, they see it as their patriotic duty as Filipinos to stay there for the rest of their lives so they can fend off those Chinese claims. And it's that contrast between feeling like you're in the middle of nowhere and have nothing to do with world events and actually being at the center of one of these geopolitical issues that happens.

That fascinates me so much about V2. Well, thanks for going there and bringing us this reporting. I have to thank my seasickness, anti-seasickness pills for getting me there. Thank you, Greg. That's the state of the world from NPR. Thanks for listening. See you again soon.

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