New structures in Spratlys: RP

New structures in Spratlys: RP

MANILA (AFP): New structures are being erected on an
uninhabited reef in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea,
Philippine Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado said on Tuesday.

But he said he did not know which country was building them.
"We have not yet confirmed if it is the Chinese or the Vietnamese
who are building the structures," he told reporters.

The structures, resembling the steel skeletons of buildings
under construction, are rising on the Lizzie Weper reef, located
within an area of the Spratlys claimed by the Philippines, he
said.

The reef, also called Magsaysay reef by the Philippines, is
about 215 nautical miles from the western Philippine island of
Balabac and is surrounded by three of the Spratly islands
occupied by Vietnam.