China dismisses Philippines' criticism of light houses in SCS

China has rejected the Philippines' criticism of its newly built lighthouses in the disputed islands in the South China Sea, saying it won't change the status quo there.
"China holds indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their surrounding waters. There is no need for us to bolster a sovereignty claim through building lighthouses," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.
She reiterated that China's construction on the Nansha Islands completely falls within its own sovereignty.
China is building civilian and international public facilities on its own territory with the aim of better serving coastal nations in the South China Sea and passing vessels from around the world, Hua said.

China asserts that the lighthouses in the reefs also claimed by Philippines went into operation on October 10 and have significantly improved navigational safety in the South China Sea.
The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei besides Taiwan disputes China's claim of sovereignty over all most all of the South China Sea.