This photo shows the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) command centre on Thitu Island in the South China Sea on April 9, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AFP
The Philippine Coast Guard unveiled on Thursday (April 9, 2026) its first dedicated command centre in the Spratly island chain, a flashpoint in the disputed South China Sea that has been the site of repeated confrontations with Chinese vessels.
The headquarters of a newly established coast guard district, formerly overseen from neighbouring Palawan, will cover an area of about 68,000 square kilometres (26,000 square miles).