"The Xisha Islands are favored nesting grounds for green turtles. By protecting the beach where they were born, generations of sea turtles will continue to return to lay eggs," he added.

New additions to ‘Sansha’ City and a naming exercise for submerged features are the latest in Beijing’s sovereignty-seeking toolkit.

In a statement on Monday, Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises said: “On Saturday afternoon it was passing Xisha Islands [Paracel Islands] in the South China Sea when the vessel encountered adverse ...