The Philippines yesterday released photographs to back its claim that China was reclaiming land on a disputed reef in the South China Sea in an apparent effort to build an airstrip. Manila warned on Wednesday that China may be building an airstrip on the Chinese-held Johnson South Reef -- claimed by the Philippines and Vietnam -- boosting the superpower’s claim to most of the strategic Asian waters. A series of photographs released by the Foreign Affairs department yesterday appeared to show large-scale reclamation in stages. The latest photograph dated March 11, 2014 appears to show a large light-colored landfill, surrounded by shallow turquoise waters.

Delavin, I. C. C. (2014, May 16-17). China reef ‘reclamation’ seen. BusinessWorld, p. S1/12.