Tensions between the Philippines and China are expected to escalate after a Filipino military chief announced plans to develop islands in the South China Sea which it considers part of its territory.
There has been a long history of maritime territorial disputes in the waterway between the two countries.
Manila's military chief Romeo Brawner, said the development will mean the islands are more habitable for troops.
The Philippines occupies eight features in the South China Sea.
Tensions between the Philippines and China are expected to escalate after a Filipino military chief announced plans to develop islands in the South China Sea which it considers part of its territory
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Apart from the Second Thomas Shoal, also known as Ayungin, the Philippines considers them part of its exclusive economic zone.
Brawner said: "We'd like to improve all the nine, especially the islands we are occupying."
Plans for the islands include bringing a desalination machine for the military living aboard a warship deliberately grounded on Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 to assert its sovereignty claim, according to Brawner.
The Philippines inhabit the Thitu island - the biggest and most strategically important in the South China Sea - which is located around 300 miles (480 km) west of the Philippine province of Palawan.LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Other countries including Brunei, China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam all claim sovereignty in the South China Sea, a channel for goods in excess of $3 trillion every year.
Proposals also include purchasing more ships, radars and aircraft.
Brawner added that the Philippines is shifting its focus to territorial from internal defence.
China has claimed almost the entire South China Sea and had ignored international tribunal ruling that its assertions have no legal basis.
There has been a long history of maritime territorial disputes in the waterway between the two countries
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Last month saw intense standoffs over the disputed area which included a collision between vessels and a Chinese ship spraying water cannon at a Philippine boat.
China also held military drills in the sea while the US and Philippines conducted their own exercises in the same water this month.
Brawner said the country will develop "the islands and other features".