The realities of China’s territorial ambitions are immediately apparent to travelers arriving on tiny Thitu Island. There they are: dozens of Chinese ships surrounding a tiny spit of land that a few hundred Filipinos call home.

For now, though, life on the island is mostly calm and slow. Small wooden fishing boats are moored along the white sandy beaches of the east coast. Simple homes cobbled together from plywood, scrap wood and tarps are the main dwellings. On a recent evening, a few men gathered near the beach to debone fish, while others waded into tide pools with harpoons.

But the calm belies the fact that Thitu is disputed territory. Nearby, China has stationed a small fleet of coast guard and maritime militia vessels. On a nearby reef, China has built a military base that, at night, glows like a city. China’s growing presence has alarmed the Philippines, which has occupied Thitu for nearly half a century. So it is upgrading its shabby military facilities on the island’s southern end.

The Philippines has also encouraged more Filipinos to move in, believing that more residents would strengthen its sovereignty claim over Thitu (which the Philippines calls Pag-asa, or “Hope Island”) and reduce hostility with China.

The civilians are the only residents of the Spratly Islands, a chain of more than 100 atolls, reefs and islets in the South China Sea that may contain vast oil reserves and is claimed by six countries in a tense geopolitical dispute.

Despite the perceived risk of a Chinese invasion, Marjorie Janizzo and her husband, Juní Antonio Janizzo, moved here with their eight children last November.

“In the end, we have to ask ourselves: Hunger or fear?” said Janizzo, 36. “No matter where you are, if it’s time to die, it’s time to die.”

Tensions have risen between Beijing and Manila, which has a mutual defense treaty with the United States.

Two years ago, islanders heard explosions that shook the island and feared war was imminent. But the dispute between Filipino and Chinese sailors — sparked by debris from a falling Chinese space rocket — quickly died down.

In June, a Chinese coast guard ship rammed several Philippine military vessels in another area of ​​the Spratly Islands, seriously injuring a soldier.Somewhat easedHowever, because the South China Sea is an important waterway for international trade, even a small misjudgment by either side could trigger a conflict that affects the entire world.

China’s blockade of Zhongye Island, which covers an area of ​​about 0.4 square kilometers, has reduced residents’ fishing range, thus reducing their main food source.

But for some people, life is better here.

As a welder, Janizo now earns $350 a month, compared with $80 a month in Palawan, the closest Philippine province to Thitu Island, at a distance of about 500 kilometers. Mainland China, to its northwest, is more than twice that distance.

Janizo is one of many civilians working on military facilities on Thitu Island. Caught off guard by Beijing’s expansion in the region, Manila began upgrading facilities on the island in 2018. It now has a sheltered port, years after local officials requested it. The once muddy runway, often unusable after light rains, has been upgraded to a concrete runway. An aircraft hangar, a control tower, military barracks, health center and school buildings are under construction.

All supplies to the islands—rice, flour, eggs, meat, livestock, and medicine—had to be brought in from the mainland. Much of the food was provided free to civilians, which was part of the islands’ appeal. However, bad weather could hamper the transportation of supplies, causing food shortages.

Until this year, there was no doctor on the island, and pregnant women had to move to the mainland in their third trimester. A diesel power plant provides paid electricity, but there is no running water in the houses.

Sometimes it takes a certain level of desperation to move to Thitu Island. Emmanuel Greganda said he moved here in 2016 from the main Philippine island of Luzon to escape former President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on drugs, which led toTens of thousands of peopleDied.

“I still want to live and change myself,” said Greganda, 43, a former drug addict, as he made wooden boat souvenirs outside his house. “My family and I are very scared because some of my friends have been killed.”

Like other male residents of Thitu Island, Greganda was taught how to shoot a gun in preparation for a Chinese invasion.

In 2021, when Larry Hugo, chairman of a fishermen’s group, was heading to a sandbar near Zhongye Island to fish, a large Chinese Coast Guard ship stopped him just over 90 meters away. Chinese ships often chase, track and drive away Filipino fishermen in Zhongye Island and other waters in the South China Sea.

In June, with the approval of the Philippine government, a colleague and I spent five days on Zhongye Island. We arrived by military aircraft, stayed in a house facing the east coast, and ate mainly fresh fish and other seafood. Last year, the Philippine government opened Zhongye Island and other Philippine-occupied reefs and atolls in the Spratly Islands to tourists. Some residents converted their houses into homestays to accommodate tourists.

There are more than 200 settlers, about 65 families, living on the island. In addition, about 150 workers were brought here to upgrade military facilities. Officials said there are about 100 soldiers, coast guard members and firefighters stationed here.

Some experts say the Filipino presence on Thitu strengthens the country’s claim to sovereignty over the island, but local town mayor Roberto del Mundo said he was concerned about the settlers eating for free.

“Many of them are abusing the government’s generosity,” said Mayor Del Mundo, a former air force soldier stationed on the island in the 1980s and 1990s, who recently cut the monthly food allowance to just a few kilograms of rice per person.

Still, many newcomers like Ms. Janizzo, who was anxious about moving to the island, are glad to be here. Ms. Janizzo’s children, including 13-year-old Jessa May, attend a school here that now has 14 teachers teaching about 80 students. Some teachers worry there aren’t enough resources to adequately prepare the children, while others are grateful for the jobs.

On a recent evening, residents sang on karaoke machines, played pool and basketball and drank alcohol. Many teenagers hung out near schools to enjoy free Wi-Fi, glued to TikTok and Facebook videos on their smartphones.

Hugo, chairman of the fishermen’s group, moved to Thitu Island in 2011. He said the pace of life here suits him perfectly. “This is my home,” he said. “I will never leave this island until I die.”