The Philippines has protested against China's reclamation of land on a disputed reef in the South China Sea, fearing it could be used for military purposes.
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the work being done at the Johnson Reef in the Spratly Islands violates a regional non-aggression pact.
Mr Del Rosario said it was not clear from aerial photos what China intended to build on the reef, which Manila claims as part of its western province of Palawan.
However, one possibility was an airstrip. A senior government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Chinese military could also be planning an offshore base there.
"We're not exactly sure what are their intentions there," Mr Del Rosario said.
In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying claimed the reef was part of China's territory.
"It falls within China's sovereignty rights to engage in construction on the relevant reef," she told a news conference. "I wonder what special motives there are behind such concerns by the Philippines."
The discovery of the reclamation work is likely to raise alarm bells in other countries which regard Johnson Reef as theirs.
These include Vietnam, which maintains several nearby military installations. Chinese and Vietnamese forces fought a deadly naval battle in the region in 1988.
Manila says the reclamation was first detected by air force planes six months ago.
Philippine aircraft searching for the missing Malaysian jetliner also spotted at least one Chinese dredging ship and a number of smaller vessels there in March.
The Philippines government estimates the submerged reef and a sand bar have been turned into a 74-acre land mass, a senior diplomat told the Associated Press.
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