The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has formally protested against construction activities carried out by the Philippines on islands in the South China Sea that Beijing claims as its own territory.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports that Zhang Bin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, stated that Beijing strongly opposes construction work on islands and reefs it considers illegally occupied by the Philippines, including the Zhongye (Thitu) and Mahuan areas.
"China will take necessary measures to protect its territorial sovereignty, as well as its rights and interests at sea," Zhang Bin said, commenting on satellite imagery showing modernization efforts around the Nansha (Spratly) archipelago. The spokesperson emphasized that China maintains undisputed sovereignty over the mentioned islands and their adjacent maritime territories.
The South China Sea has been a flashpoint for territorial disputes for decades, primarily due to its strategic shipping lanes and significant hydrocarbon reserves discovered on the continental shelf. Beijing's claims involve the Paracel Islands (Xisha), the Nansha archipelago, and the Huangyan (Scarborough) Shoal. These claims overlap with the maritime boundaries and economic zones of several regional nations, including Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines, leading to frequent diplomatic and naval tensions in the Indo-Pacific region.
