Earlier this month, China declared new "baselines" around Scarborough Reef, a large coral atoll topped by a handful of rocks barely above sea level in the South China Sea.

Countries surrounding the South China Sea have built more than 90 outposts on around 70 islands, rocks and reefs in the highly disputed area, satellite images show.

Tensions between Beijing, Manila over disputed areas of South China Sea escalated in recent months - Anadolu Ajansı

China is stepping up pressure on the Philippines to concede its sovereign rights in the South China Sea, Manila's Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Tuesday after meeting his Australian counterpart in Canberra.

China’s military deployed naval and air forces to conduct patrols around the disputed Scarborough Shoal in South China Sea on Thursday, the military’s Southern Theater Command said in a statement. The military has deployed forces to enhance patrols in the sea and airspace around the “territorial waters” of Scarborough Shoal since the beginning of November,