© WikipediaScarborough Shoal landsat image.
China has denied it is planning to build an environmental monitoring station on Scarborough Shoal, a disputed landmass it has controlled since 2012 despite objections from the Philippines.
Last week, Xiao Jie, the mayor of China's Sansha City, which oversees the country's maritime territories in the South China Sea, claimed that the 200 sq. km water-filled rock circle, called the Panatag Shoal by the Philippines, was one of multiple sites where the country plans to build environmental stations, reclaim land, or construct docks in 2017.
During a press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday, however, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying refuted the plan, which had caused an outcry in Manila.
"According to the relevant bodies in China, the reports you mention that touch upon building environmental monitoring stations on Scarborough Shoal are mistaken, these things are not true," she said, according to Reuters.
"With regards to Scarborough Shoal, China's position is consistent and clear. We place great importance on China-Philippines relations."
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