Countries surrounding the South China Sea have built more than 90 outposts on around 70 islands, rocks and reefs in the highly disputed area, satellite images show.

China is putting ever greater pressure on the Philippines to cede its sovereign rights in the South China Sea, Manila's Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Tuesday after meeting his Australian counterpart in Canberra.

New images released by the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies show that Vietnam is laying a runway approximately 2.4km long in the South China Sea and could build two more airstrips.

Beijing claims sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea, including areas claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. China rejects a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague that its sweeping claims were not supported by international law.

Indonesia said on Monday it does not recognise China's claims over the South China Sea, despite signing a maritime development deal with Beijing, as some analysts warned the pact risked compromising its sovereign rights.

Over the weekend, the two nations signed a joint development agreement that refers to “overlapping claims” in the disputed waterway.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed two laws reaffirming the extent of his country’s maritime territories and right to resources, including in the South China Sea, where the new laws clash with Beijing’s extensive territorial claims.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said he would "always safeguard our sovereignty" when asked about the issue of South China Sea, adding partnerships are better than conflicts and that "we respect all powers.

The Philippines' foreign ministry summoned the Chinese ambassador on Wednesday, November 13, to protest against Beijing's establishment of baseline coordinates around the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea,