Air Force to repair Rancudo field

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Air Force (PAF) has been given the go-signal by Malacañang to spearhead the repair and rehabilitation of the damaged Rancudo Airfield in Pag-Asa, the biggest island being occupied by Filipino troops in the hotly contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.

Camp Aguinaldo insiders said President Aquino has directed various government agencies, including the Department of Energy (DOE), to pool their resources for the initial release of P8 billion in order to bankroll the repairs of dilapidated military infrastructure in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG).

Among the Spratlys’ six claimant countries – the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei – the Philippines is lagging behind in terms of military fortification in the area, with China and Vietnam conducting aggressive development in their respective occupied islands, reefs and shoals in that part of the South China Sea.

Military sources bared that part of the P8 billion as well as future fund releases for the KIG would go to concreting of the 1,553-meter Rancudo Air Field and the procurement of long range patrol aircraft and patrol vessels.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels have been dispatched to the area to provide security to civilian vessels conducting research and seismic studies in the KIG in line with the government’s ongoing oil exploration within the Palawan Sea.

This was after the March 7 Reed Bank incident, where two Chinese gunboats harassed a research vessel commissioned by DOE. 

“The security concerns out there in the Spratlys are already alarming,” a source from Camp Aguinaldo said.

He added that no less than President Aquino, in his recent meeting with top defense and military officials, aired his concern over the prevailing state of existing military infrastructure and facilities in the KIG.

Meantime, Lt. Col. Ernesto Okol, Air Force spokesman, confirmed that there are existing development plans for Rancudo Airfield but he could not say when these will be implemented.