China to build on disputed shoal in South China Sea

China will begin preparations this year for an environmental monitoring station on Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, an official said, as two US senators introduced a bill to impose sanctions on its activities in the disputed waterway.

China seized the strategic shoal, which is also claimed by the Philippines, in 2012 and the United States has warned Beijing against carrying out the same land reclamation work there that it has done in other parts of the South China Sea.

This week, Xiao Jie, the mayor of what Beijing calls Sansha City, an administrative base for disputed South China Sea islands and reefs it controls, said China planned preparatory work this year to build environmental monitoring stations on a number of islands, including Scarborough Shoal.

The monitoring stations, along with other infrastructure, form part of island restoration and erosion prevention efforts planned for 2017, Xiao told the official Hainan Daily.

The report comes ahead of a visit to Beijing at the weekend by US secretary of state Rex Tillerson, where he is expected to reiterate US concern about Chinese island building.

A spokeswoman for the US state department said Washington was aware of the Chinese report and reiterated a call on South China Sea claimants to avoid building on disputed features. The Philippine foreign ministry declined to comment.