Manila expects China to try to build on a reef off the coast of the Philippines, the Defense secretary said on Tuesday, adding this would be “unacceptable” in the flashpoint waterway. In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Delfin Lorenzana said he believed China would eventually reclaim Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal, which is just 230 kilometers from the main Philippine island of Luzon. Beijing has already built up a number of islets and reefs on the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, installing military facilities on several of them. Analysts say similar installations on nearby Scarborough Shoal could give China effective military control over the disputed Sea — something the US has said it is not prepared to accept.

‘China likely to build on Scarborough Shoal’. (2017, February 8). Manila Times, pp. A1, A2.