Beijing warns Manila over army build-up

Contested sea: A Chinese navy ship sailing during the sunrise near the China-controlled Scarborough Shoal in South China Sea in February. China claims sovereignty over nearly the whole South China Sea, deploying an armada of coast guard vessels to protect what it considers its territory. — AFP

The Philippines could “stir up trouble” at yet another “Chinese” island in the South China Sea, China’s state-backed Global Times reported, after what it said were Manila’s “provocative intrusions” into waters at two other reefs in the region.

The Philippines is expanding military infrastructure on Thitu Island, which Beijing calls Zhongye Dao, to potentially invite warships and warplanes from countries outside of the region such as the United States and Japan, sabotaging peace and stability in the South China Sea, the nationalist tabloid reported, citing Chinese experts.Zhongye Dao is a part of Nansha Qundao, as the Spratly Islands are known in China, but “illegally occupied” by the Philippines, Global Times reported late on Thursday.