21.   The statement came after Greece ordered its armed forces on full alert in the dispute over who owns the barren uninhabited islet about the size of a football field.

22.   The reported incident comes on the heels of a tense showdown last week over a tiny barren islet over which both countries claim sovereignty.

23.   The Samhyup company has been involved in building dock facilities on the barren islets in the Sea of Japan.

24.   The Chinese flag flutters prominently on Mischief Reef, a barren Spratly islet claimed by the Philippines and at the centre of a growing territorial dispute with Beijing.

25.   The dispute over the barren islet led to a military stand-off between the two countries at the end of January.