New | China rejects Philippine proposal for construction ban in South China Sea

China rejected a suggestion by the Philippines for a regionwide ban on construction in the South China Sea after Beijing began building a school on a rugged outpost it created to strengthen its claims to disputed waters.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said he would propose that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations call for such a moratorium.

"I think we would use the international community to step up and to say that we need to manage the tension in the South China Sea before it gets out of hand," del Rosario said.

In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that China was committed to resolving issues with countries on a bilateral basis, and that island disputes between China and the Philippines were not an issue for Asean.

"The Philippines has been taking provocative actions to escalate tensions on the one hand, and making irresponsible remarks about what China has legitimately done within her sovereign rights on the other," Hua said.