The Philippines expects China to try to build on a reef off its coast, the country’s defense secretary said yesterday, a move he said would be “unacceptable” in the flashpoint waterway. In an interview with AFP, Delfin Lorenzana said he believed China would eventually reclaim Scarborough ( Panatag) Shoal, which sits just 230 kilometers ( 143 miles) from the main Philippine island of Luzon. Beijing has already built up a number of islets and reefs in the South China Sea, installing military facilities on several of them. Analysts say that similar installations on Scarborough Shoal could give China effective military control over the disputed waterway – something the US has said it is not prepared to accept.

'China to build on Phl's Panatag'. (2017, February 8). Philippine Star, pp. 1, 7.