The country's Defense chief on Friday stood by government efforts to improve facilities on Pag-asa Island in light of China's alleged force deployment in the disputed area.
China has deployed up to 95 ships near Pag-asa Island in the disputed South China Sea as the Philippines conducted repairs there, according to a U.S.-based think tank.
The rescue center was opened Tuesday in Fiery Cross Reef or Kagitingan Reef, one of the Beijing-occupied artificial islands in the Spratlys in the disputed South China Sea.
There was a significant increase in Chinese fishing vessels that spend 'far less time fishing and far more time at anchor' in contested waters in the South China Sea, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The Chinese ministry also launched marine observation stations on the reefs, which offer regular information services such as marine forecasts and disaster warnings to passing ships.
National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon tells CNN Philippines that the country should build its own weather station in the Pagasa Island, in light of reports that China has began operating weather stations in the Spratlys.
