Manila expects China to try to build on a reef off the Philippines’ coast, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Tuesday, a move he said would be “unacceptable” in the flashpoint waterway. In an interview, Lorenzana said he believed China would eventually reclaim the Scarborough Shoal, which sits just 230 kilometers from the main 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 seen fortifying shoal off PH coast. (2017, February 8). Manila Standard, pp. A1, A2.