Beijing’s “illegal” island building in the South China Sea moved center stage at an Asian summit on Wednesday after the Philippines produced evidence it said showed fresh construction activity at a flash point shoal. Beijing this week insisted it had not started building at the shoal—a move that could lead to a military outpost just 230 kilometers from the main Philippine island, Luzon, where US forces are stationed. But the Philippines on Wednesday released images it said showed Chinese ships in the area that were capable of dredging sand and other activities required to build an artificial island. China has built artificial islands on seven reefs in the hotly contested Spratly archipelago in the middle of the South China Sea.

Ramos, M. (2016, September 8). Photos show China building new islands. Philippine Daily Inquirer, pp. A1, A6.