The Philippine government announced on Tuesday that repairs on a Navy ship that has been grounded in a contested shoal since 1999 will proceed as planned despite objections from China. Both countries claim ownership of the disputed shoal.

Marine Link reported that the BRP Sierra Madre was intentionally stranded in the Second Thomas Shoal almost 16 years ago in order to stop its occupation by China. In 1995, Chinese forces seized control of a another small islet called Mischief Reef, which is around 40 kilometers away from Second Thomas Shoal.

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A spokesperson for the Philippine military Col. Edgard Arevalo told reporters that the repairs are needed in order to make it liveable for a small marine detachment tasked to guard the area that Filipinos call the Ayungin Shoal, according to BBC.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying in a press conference on Wednesday said China opposes the repairs being made on the grounded vessel and urged the Philippine government to tow the navy ship instead, GMA Network reported.

Hua accused the Philippine government of creating additional tensions between the two countries. She said Manila turned back on its word to tow the grounded vessel away from the Ren'ai Jiao shoal. She further claims that the Filipino government is the "real troublemaker"  and warned Filipino authorities that the Chinese government may take some actions. But she did not specify what kind of actions could be taken.

The Philippines has since presented its claims in the South China Sea to the Hague-based International Arbitration court. China, however, refused to participate or recognize the jurisdiction and ruling of the arbitrary body.

Meanwhile, the Philippine government has bared its plans to reopen the Subic Navy base in early 2016. The former U.S. military base is less than 300 kilometers from the disputed Scarborough Shoal.

The South China Sea is being claimed in whole or in part by various countries such the Philippines, China Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia as well Taiwan.

China maintains that it owns vast areas of the South China Sea and has embarked on a massive land reclamation projects in the disputed islets - despite the objections of other claimants.

TagsBRP Sierra Madre, Second Thomas Shoal, Scarborough Shoal, Scarborough Shoal Conflict, Ren'ai Jiao shoal, Second Thomas Shoal Philippines, Second Thomas Shoal Dispute, BRP Sierra Madre Ayungin Shoal, BRP Sierra Madre 2015