MANILA, Philippines — As international attention “shifts away” from the “slow-moving” maritime dispute, there has been no letup in China’s construction activities at its artificial islands in the contested South China Sea, new satellite imagery released by a US think tank shows. The Philippines claims parts of the South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone and calls it the West Philippine Sea. China has also started work on a new communications array on the north side of the outpost. Ties between Manila and Beijing had soured after the Philippines filed a case, and won, in a United Nations-backed tribunal against China’s sweeping claims over the South China Sea. Last month, Duterte said he remains optimistic that China will stop new occupations in South China Sea under a deal supposedly brokered by both sides.

Source: Philippine Star December 15, 2017 09:00 UTC