A maritime law expert on Monday urged the government to question China’s weather observation stations on three Philippine-claimed reefs in the Spratly archipelago, saying the installations could be used for military purposes. Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, voiced doubt about China’s claim that the stations would be used to “provide public service” to nations in the region. The Hong Kong daily newspaper South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Thursday that China had opened weather observation stations on Fiery Cross, Subi and Mischief reefs in the Spratly group of islands in the middle of the South China Sea.

Andrade, J., I., Aurelio, J. M., & Pazzibugan, D. Z. (2018, November 6). 'Protest Chinese weather stations on PH reefs'. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A2.