Philippines: Plans for tracking system for civilian flights over disputed sea

The Philippines plans to install a $1m satellite-based system to track commercial flights over the disputed South China Sea, after China landed its first test flights this month on a reef it built in the Spratly islands. China's increasing military presence in the Spratlys has stirred fears it could lead to an air defense zone the country controls, which would escalate tension with other claimants, and the United States, in one of the world's most volatile areas. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, believed to have huge oil and gas deposits, but Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims in the sea, through which about $5t in trade passes every year. "In the absence of a radar in the area, the system will help track aircraft movements, enhancing safety and security," said Rodante Joya, a deputy director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines. Joya said the Philippines would install the surveillance system on the island of Thitu, calling it by its Philippine name of Pagasa, to track about 200 commercial flights through the area each day. The area in the South China Sea is among the blind spots in the Philippines' airspace, he added.<br/>