31.   China, also denounced for nuclear tests this year, has conflicting claims with some ASEAN members over the Spratly islands, they noted.

32.   De Villa reiterated that there had been no build-up of permanent structures on Spratly islands as previously claimed by Manila.

33.   De Villa reiterated that there had been no build-up of permanent structures on Spratly islands claimed by Manila.

34.   The Philippines and China are among six claimants to the Spratly island chain in the South China Sea.

35.   The Philippines in February discovered China occupying a reef in the Spratly islands, claimed by Manila.

36.   The Philippines will demand an explanation from China for the presence of armed navy vessels in waters off the contested Spratly islands, an official said here Wednesday.

37.   The patrol will put up a symbolic stone inscription on Taiping, the largest of the Spratly island group, where Taiwan already has troops stationed, they said.

38.   The Philippine military said Friday it plans to repair facilities and provide electricity on one of the seven islands it occupies in the disputed Spratly islands.

39.   The US State Department has urged a peaceful solution to a new dispute between China and the Philippines over the Spratly islands in the South China Sea.

40.   Their main concerns included the Korean peninsula, China-Taiwan tensions and the six-nation Spratly islands dispute.