Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei Wednesday rejected Philippine allegations that China had laid concrete blocks on Huangyan Island, saying, "What the Philippine side said is not true."

"Huangyan Island is China's inherent territory," Hong reiterated, adding that China's public service vessels have conducted routine patrols around the island so as to safeguard both sovereignty and order in the waters, which is China's right.

This comes after Philippine defense spokesman Peter Galvez said the country had sighted at least 30 concrete blocks on the island's northern part and more allegedly installed by China in the waters.

Galvez said any construction would violate the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, an agreement between China and its Southeast Asian neighbors to refrain from actions that could amplify or complicate the situation.

Sun Xiaoying, a research fellow of Southeast Asian studies with the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that the Philippines together with other countries along the sea first constructed facilities and moved residents onto some disputed islands in the waters, turning some of them into "construction sites."