PAG-ASA ISLAND (South China Sea) - On this speck of a sun-splashed island in the South China Sea, there is little sign of the tensions that have consumed politicians and diplomats in distant Asian capitals.
Six different nations - Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, China and the Philippines - are pressing their stake to all or part of these potentially oil- and gas-rich waters teeming with fish.
And yet, here on Pag-asa - the biggest of the Philippine-held islands in the South China Sea's Spratlys archipelago - the only sounds are the waves slapping the shore and the wind whistling in the ears. At high noon, fighting off sleep is a struggle.
There are no cars, newspapers, Internet connections or shopping malls on an island that mostly consists of a single gravel airstrip and some structures.
Two Filipino police officers, looking bored, say there has not been a single crime for years.
"One big problem really is how to kill time," said Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon Jr of Kalayaan town, which includes far-flung Pag-asa.
A long-time resident, Mr Obnor Lenasic, said the recent spat over the Spratly Islands does not bother villagers. He said nationals from rival claimants have learnt to live together in the disputed region. They wave at each other when their fishing boats cross at sea. Filipinos sometimes barter coconut for Chinese cigarettes, he said.
Except for a few rusting anti-aircraft guns and the presence of troops, the 37ha Pag-asa, or "hope" in the Tagalog language, resembles a typical Philippine rural village - serene and backward. AP
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