manila philippines start upgrade military facilities big feature occupy dispute south china sea defense secretary say tuesday assert manila claim strategic waterway delfin lorenzana say contractor build beach ramp thitu island locally know pag-asa hope large nine feature philippines hold spratly islands construction ongoing albeit intermittently depend good weather expect completion early 2018 lorenzana say add monsoon rain hamper build beach ramp construction proceed without good beach ramp china claim almost entire south china sea brunei malaysia philippines taiwan vietnam also claim waterway trillion worth sea-borne goods pass every year recent satellite imagery show chinese vessels gather around thitu experts say could attempt deter philippines cement claim china ambassador play insist country ill intent two countries long odds south china sea although tie warm substantially philippine president rodrigo duterte say smart business china pick fight far superior military lorenzana say ramp important allow large naval ship deliver construction materials repair upgrade island airfield fix structure build new port fishermen small community live thitu ostensibly prop country claim although condition basic compare enjoy vietnamese chinese islands spratly chain defense department spokesman arsenio andolong say government would spend 1.3 billion pesos 25.3 million upgrade thitu military defend work say almost south china sea claimants china build seven artificial islands instal radar anti-aircraft gun missiles several experts predict fighter jet soon deploy islands philippines start construction near china 's manmade islands dispute water