The Guardian Weekly

The tiny island on the frontline of US-China tensions

Fuga Island was set to host a Chinese ‘smart city’. Now it may become a base for American troops as the US seeks to protect the region

By Carmela Fonbuena FUGA ISLAND

The azure waters are inviting and its long stretches of clear white sand are spotless. But Fuga Island is not a holiday destination. The residents of the remote community of just over 2,000 on the northern tip of the Philippines are farmers and fishers.

However, things are changing on Fuga Island. These days a detachment of marines watches its coastline closely. The coastguard also regularly patrols the area, and may soon build a station there. They could be joined by US troops, too.

To understand why requires a look at the map. Fuga lies less than 400km from Taiwan and is situated in waters connecting the South China Sea to the Pacific Ocean, an area critical to the defence of the Philippines itself.

As tensions rise in the region, Fuga Island is in demand. The land mass is part of Cagayan, one of the provinces identified as a potential site to host the US military under a deal called the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), allowing joint training, construction of temporary facilities and storage of equipment and supplies.

Unlike his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has taken a stand against China’s aggression in the South China Sea, strengthening diplomatic and security ties with the US, Australia and Japan. The Philippines has reported dangerous manoeuvres by the China Coast Guard in the Spratly Islands, and in February accused Beijing of pointing a military-grade laser at a coastguard vessel.

Amid the escalating rhetoric, Marcos has agreed to expand from five to nine the number of its sites that the US military can access under the EDCA. Discussions are still under way on which sites to choose, but local military analysts say Fuga offers the most strategic value. Unlike other islands in the area, Fuga has the topography to accommodate an airport and a seaport.

“We want the marines and the coastguard here to protect the island. If it’s just us village officials, we cannot cover the entire area,” said Melchor Visario, the village chief on Fuga. He governs six communities scattered around the island and has been entertaining more visitors in recent years, as attention to the island grows. “We haven’t heard about the Americans coming here … They are also welcome.”

While the likelihood of China invading Taiwan remains a point of debate, the fear that Chinese forces would one day occupy Fuga is very real to its people. “We are part of the Philippines. Where do we run? We will die if we are going to fight them ourselves,” said Marlon Erice, 46, a resident. “We will be safe here [with the security forces].”

It was Beijing, not Washington, that first saw Fuga’s potential. In 2019, Chinese company Fong Zhi Enterprises Corporation entered into an agreement with the private company that holds the title to the island, Fuga Island Holdings Inc, to build a “smart city” there as part of a $2bn project.

However, the plan caused uproar in the Philippines security establishment, which was concerned about giving the Chinese an observation post within the country’s borders. The military quickly reached an agreement with regional leaders to establish a navy base on Fuga.

The smart city did not materialise, but several other China-funded projects were planned for the province, including manufacturing facilities, a hi-tech industrial park and an airport expansion, among others.

Four years later, it may be the US’s turn to have a presence there. Fuga Island has undoubted strategic value to either superpower, as well as the Philippines. It is adjacent to two key passages – the Luzon Strait and the Bashi Channel – which provide access to the South China Sea and the Pacific.

“[The US military deal] will allow the navy to monitor vessels and traffic and provide a base of operations

for naval and air operations in the northern border,” said retired Rear Admiral Rommel Jude Ong, who is now a professor at the Ateneo School of Government in Manila. “The PLA [People’s Liberation Army] navy used this route during the recent Taiwan crisis,” he said, referring to China’s exercises near Taiwan in August 2022.

Alex Vuving, a professor at the Daniel K Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii, said a location in the northern Philippines would give the US access to Taiwan and the South China Sea, “two major places on the lifeline of Asia and the frontier of the great power competition of our time”.

Despite their fears of China’s ambitions for the region, residents are enjoying the new attention the island has been receiving. “Services are coming to us unlike before,” said Visario.

The difficulty of sea transport means the island has to rely on its own resources as much as possible, especially during the windy months from September to December when small boats cannot sail to the mainland.

It has some internet service, though it is usually patchy. Medical facilities are a boat ride away. There’s an old airstrip, but it is owned by a private company and it’s not clear if it remains operational. However, the regular trips of the navy and coast guard have guaranteed more regular supply runs.

In March 2022, Aparri, the municipality in which Fuga lies, hosted war games by the Philippine and US militaries on its shores. The war games offered a “foretaste of EDCA”, said Fr Manuel Catral, parish priest in Aparri.

He says there needs to be more conversation if an EDCA facility is built and US troops are to stay longer. Some fishing grounds were closed during the war games to protect residents.

In April, the Philippines and the US will carry out their biggest ever joint exercises. The war games are designed to project stability and deterrence but tensions are rising in the region and the US military grows more pessimistic about avoiding a Chinese invasion of Taiwan in the next few years.

As the uncertainty spirals, one thing is clear to Ong: the Philippines cannot avoid getting involved if the Taiwan crisis erupts into a conflict. “It’s the curse of geography.”

Back to their roots It was once rare for Marshallese children to be given such names: most received the names of relatives. In recent years, however, and among better off Marshallese, there has been a small surge in children named after the places from which their families come, highlighting the emotionally laden ways Pacific Islanders are grappling with the future of a region battling economic challenges and climate turmoil.

Eyewitness

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2023-03-31T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-31T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://theguardianweekly.pressreader.com/article/281994676748967

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