The Philippines warned on Wednesday that China may be building an airstrip on a reef in the South China Sea as the Asian superpower asserts its claim to most of the strategic area. Filipino military surveillance aircraft had been documenting large-scale earthmoving activity on Chinese-held Johnson South Reef since January, the Defense Department said. Foreign Affairs Secretary Abert del Rosario told reporters the Philippines had filed a diplomatic protest against China's reclamation works on the reef last month, but Beijing rejected it on grounds the reef was part of Chinese territory.

Solmerin, F. S., Tuyay, F., Fabunan, S. S. D., Barcelo, V., & Cruz, M. V. (2014, May 15). China may be building airstrip on reef-PH. Manila Standard, pp. A1, A2.