Philippine Beauty Queen Wins Crown on Spratly Claim Defense
This article is for subscribers only.
Sarah Osorio, an 18-year-old resident of a South China Sea coral outcrop, was crowned beauty queen of the Philippines’ Palawan province after she backed her country’s claims in the disputed waters.
The win shows the popular appeal of the contest for control of the Spratlys that has sparked rising tensions between China, the Philippines and Vietnam, all vying for untapped oil reserves made more lucrative by the 24 percent jump in crude prices in the past year. The growing nationalism over the South China Sea islands has seen anti-China protests in Vietnam and Chinese gunboats firing at Philippine trawlers.