The Philippines said on Wednesday it was "gravely concerned" that Chinese boats were preparing to build structures at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, shattering an appearance of cordiality at an Asian summit in Laos. Officials said talks between Southeast Asian leaders and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang went smoothly. There was no reference during the talks to a recent ruling by an arbitration court in The Hague that invalidated China's claims to the waterway and has incensed Beijing. But, hours before the meeting, the Philippines' Defense Ministry released photographs and a map showing what it said was an increased number of Chinese vessels near Scarborough Shoal, which China seized after a standoff in 2012. The ministry's spokesman told reporters in Manila the pictures were made public because China's ambassador to the Philippines had denied there was any new activity there. "We believe that this is a precursor to possible building of structures on the shoal," spokesman Arsenio Andolong said, adding that China's denial was "even more disturbing". "We are gravely concerned about this development," he said. China said there had been no change in the situation around the shoal and it had not taken any new action there. "Given this situation, some people are hyping the situation by spreading that kind of information," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily briefing in Beijing. China's embassy in Manila said in a statement on Wednesday that there had been no dredging or building at the shoal. "The Chinese side has maintained a number of coast guard vessels for law enforcement patrols in the waters of Huangyan Dao," the embassy said, referring to the Chinese name for Scarborough Shoal. "There are no dredging or building activities there." China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei claim parts or all of the resource-rich South China Sea, making it a hot spot of regional tension. The last four are members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). China has over the past year alarmed other claimants, and outside powers such as the United States and Japan, by re-claiming land on several disputed reefs through dredging, and building air fields and port facilities. A Philippines official said the release of the pictures and a map showing the ships' positions was ordered by the defense minister, who was at the ASEAN summit in Vientiane, Laos. But there was no row over the issue at the summit. "It seems that every country played down the level of conflict, therefore the tone of the meeting was quite friendly and emphasized peace and security within the region," said Maj. Gen. Weerachon Sukhondhapatipak, a Thai government spokesman. China and ASEAN members agreed at their meeting to set up hotlines between their foreign ministries to tackle maritime emergencies in the disputed sea, participants said. — Reuters
