Eugenio Bito-onon, mayor of Thitu Island (Pag-asa in Filipino), recently sat down with CSIS Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies senior fellow and deputy director Murray Hiebert to discuss China’s island reclamation efforts in the South China Sea, his encounters with Chinese Coast Guard vessels in disputed waters, and the mayor’s proposal to develop an eco-tourism zone in the Spratly Islands. Thitu is the largest of the Philippine-occupied features in the Spratly Islands and is home to about 100 Filipino civilians. The interview originally appeared as part of the Sumitro Chair’s Dialog series, here.
About Murray Hiebert
Murray Hiebert serves as senior fellow and deputy director of the Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies at CSIS in Washington, DC. He earlier worked as a journalist in Asia for the Wall Street Journal and the Far Eastern Economic Review.