China plans to build lighthouses on five islands in the South China Sea, state media reported on Thursday, in defiance of calls from the United States and the Philippines for a freeze on such activity to ease tension over rival claims.
At least two of the islands upon which China said it will put up lighthouses appear to be in waters also claimed by Vietnam.
Overlapping claims in the South China Sea have fueled confrontation in recent months with China, which claims 90 percent of the sea, at odds with Vietnam and the Philippines in particular.
The state-run China News Service said Chinese authorities had been surveying sites for lighthouses on five islands, known in English as North Reef, Antelope Reef, Drummond Island, South Sand and Pyramid Rock.
The survey began on July 27, and “as of Aug. 4 construction sites and alternative locations for lighthouses on the five islands and reefs had been initially decided upon”, the news service said, quoting a Chinese navigation official.
Drummond Island and Pyramid Rock are in the China-controlled Paracel Islands – more than 100 small coral islands and reefs also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.
The South China Sea is believed to contain oil and gas deposits and has bountiful fisheries. As well as China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan lay claim to parts of the sea, through which passes about $5 trillion of trade a year.
Explaining the need for the lighthouses, the China News Service cited the navigation official as saying a lack of navigational aids and charts directly affected the safety and regulation of ships.
