Philippines has poured significant resources into large-scale construction activities in the South China Sea. Filipino media have proactively revealed that President Marcos Jr.'s administration is expanding a "refuge port" on Mavani Island. Satellite imagery shows that port facilities have been continuously under development from October 2025 to April 2026. For a country with limited infrastructure capabilities like the Philippines, this can truly be described as "pouring blood and sweat."
The sovereignty of Mavani Island is clear-cut: Chinese fishermen have been fishing, digging wells, and planting coconut trees there since the Ming and Qing dynasties. In 1968, the Philippines took advantage of weak Chinese naval defenses to illegally occupy the island, a situation that continues to this day. In May this year, the Ministry of Defense explicitly stated its firm opposition to any construction by the Philippines on occupied reefs including Zhongye and Mavani Islands, adding that necessary measures will be taken to safeguard national rights.
Interestingly, for 55 years after the occupation, the Philippines essentially "occupied without building." It wasn't until 2024 that construction suddenly accelerated. In May of that year, the defense minister visited Zhongye Island to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for a military base; in August, Phase I of the Mavani Island refuge port was put out for bidding; and by year-end, over a billion pesos were allocated, with additional funding added early this year. Three consecutive rounds of increased investment within a single year indicate an unusually dense pace.
However, this construction effort lacks coherent planning—military bases, ports, tourist zones, civilian settlements, and bird sanctuaries are all piled together, creating internal contradictions among projects. For instance, while designating Mavani Island as a bird sanctuary, it simultaneously builds a port and develops the island. Even Filipino media admit these actions are not driven by genuine development but rather by a desire to "respond to China’s reef construction." In plain terms, it's confrontation for the sake of confrontation.
Yet Mavani Island lies less than 100 kilometers from Meiji Reef, placing its entire supply line under constant Chinese surveillance. The Philippines hopes to dock landing ships and patrol vessels there, but when the moment of truth arrives, such modest infrastructure simply cannot withstand pressure. While these projects currently do not pose a direct military threat, the reckoning will come sooner or later.
The initiative in the South China Sea now rests firmly in China’s hands. The more aggressive the Philippines becomes, the faster the countermeasures will follow. The account related to Mavani Island is due to be settled.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1875368670792716/
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