1 China denied Thursday that its navy has intruded into territory claimed by the Philippines in the Spratly Islands.
2 'No Chinese warships are at or around the . reef,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Chen Jian said at a weekly briefing.
3 He was denying Philippine President Fidel Ramos' statement in a nationally televised news conference Wednesday that Chinese vessels have been sighted near Pangangiban Reef in the Spratlys.
4 A senior Philippine official, however, repeated the allegation on Thursday.
5 China claims all of the Spratlys, a collection of small islands and atolls in the South China Sea. The islands also are claimed in whole or in part by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.
6 Ramos said photographs taken by Philippine air force planes indicated that structures had been built on stilts on the reef and that the vessels appeared to be armed.
7 Chen said the structures were built for the safety of Chinese fishermen working in the area.
8 Ramos said the alleged Chinese action violated international law as well as 'the spirit and intent' of a regional declaration calling for a peaceful settlement of the dispute over the Spratlys and cooperation in developing the area, believed to be rich in oil, natural gas and minerals.
9 Philippine Defense Secretary Renato de Villa told reporters in Manila Thursday that the Chinese were building four permanent structures in the disputed area and that they were being 'guarded' by ships he described as supply vessels.
10 'Some of their islands have an indication of military presence, the ones they have occupied before, which is farther out from this place,' de Villa said. 'What is significant here, and I would like to emphasize, is that this is quite close to Palawan,' a major Philippine island.
11 A Philippine senator, meanwhile, said the six-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations should jointly protest China's build-up in the disputed islands.
12 'ASEAN must file a diplomatic protest against China's intrusion into the disputed Spratlys and threaten it with diplomatic isolation as a minimum form of sanction which could later be escalated depending on China's response,' Sen. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo told reporters.
13 Three ASEAN members -- the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei -- claim parts of the islands.
14 Although an island nation with a longer coastline than the 48 contiguous American states, the Philippines has one of the weakest navies in Southeast Asia.
15 For years, the Philippines held down spending on its navy because of the presence of U.S. naval forces at Subic Bay. But the Philippine Senate ordered the base closed in 1991, leaving the country virtually defenseless from the sea.

China claims all of the Spratlys , a collection of small islands and atolls in the South China Sea . The islands also are claimed in whole or in part by the Philippines , Vietnam , Malaysia , Taiwan and Brunei .
Spratlys ,
Which country originally owned the Spratlys?