Qualla: Thitu Island

Thitu Island: Introduction

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Khanos93, CC0. The Filipino name for Thitu Island is Pag-asa, meaning "Hope." It is an apt name for a 37-hectare island that sits 500 kilometers west of Puerto Princesa, closer to Vietnam and the Chinese-built artificial islands than to any Philippine city. As the second-largest naturally occurring island in the Spratlys, Thitu is also the administrative center of the Municipality of Kalayaan, the only municipality in the Philippines with a single barangay. Children attend school here. A 5-bed clinic serves the community. Cell towers provide a signal from Smart Communications. Living on Pag-asa requires a particular kind of hope: the belief that ordinary life can take root in one of the most disputed places on Earth.

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Image: Khanos93 | CC0

Thitu Island: Seized in a Typhoon's Wake

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Palawan Provincial Engineering Office, Public domain. Thitu Island changed hands because of a storm. On April 18, 1971, a strong typhoon struck, and the Republic of China authorities ordered all garrisons on Thitu to evacuate to nearby Taiping Island. After the typhoon passed, Taiwan rotated its troops, sending the original garrison...

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Image: Palawan Provincial Engineering Office | Public domain

Thitu Island: An Airstrip at the Edge

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Tôi Yêu Biển Đảo Quê Hương, CC0. Rancudo Airfield, named after former Philippine Air Force Commanding General Jose L. Rancudo, was built in 1978 with a 1,300-meter unpaved strip. For years, erosion from the sea gnawed at both ends of the runway, shrinking the usable length. Repairs were delayed repeatedly, origi...

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Image: Tôi Yêu Biển Đảo Quê Hương | CC0

Thitu Island: Civilians in a Military Frontier

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Brocken Inaglory, CC BY-SA 4.0. What makes Thitu unusual among Spratly outposts is its civilian population. Most occupied features in the archipelago are purely military installations: garrisons on concrete platforms, soldiers on artificial islands. Thitu has a small community with families, children, and the i...

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Image: Brocken Inaglory | CC BY-SA 4.0

Thitu Island: Naval Station Emilio Liwanag

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Tôi Yêu Biển Đảo Quê Hương, CC0. The military installation on Thitu, Naval Station Emilio Liwanag, is named for a Philippine Navy captain who served in World War II and the Korean War. The station anchors the Philippines' defense posture in the northern Spratlys. Its neighbors tell the story of the region's tens...

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Image: Tôi Yêu Biển Đảo Quê Hương | CC0