China working on reef: Manila

China working on reef: Manila

MANILA (AP): More than 100 Chinese workers are building large concrete barracks and possibly a pier on a disputed South China Sea reef, Philippine defense secretary Orlando Mercado said on Monday.

He called the Chinese buildup on Mischief Reef a "creeping invasion" of Philippine territorial waters and said Manila was considering filing a complaint at the United Nations.

The reef, which the Philippines calls Panganiban, is located in the disputed Spratly Islands.

In a closed-door briefing for Philippine senators on the Chinese actions, Mercado said he showed photographs taken from air force reconnaissance planes revealing new concrete structures in what had been a cluster of small huts on stilts in the reef.