BEIJING, July 23 (UPI) -- China took further steps to strengthen its claims on disputed islands in the South China Sea, including deciding to deploy a military garrison in the region.

The official Xinhua news agency said China's powerful central military authority had approved to form and deploy a military garrison in Sansha, a newly formed prefectural-level city in south China's Hainan province. Sansha is designed to administer the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha Islands and the surrounding waters in the South China Sea, Xinhua reported.

The decision to deploy soldiers came after Sansha's first city people's congress announced deputies were elected during the weekend by the 1,100 residents from the islands, Xinhua reported. Yongxing Island was named the government seat of Sansha, established in June.

Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha Islands are Chinese names for the resource-rich Spratlys, the Paracels and the Macclesfield Bank islands group in the South China Sea, seen as vital for international trade and shipping.

The South China Sea islands are also claimed by some of the countries neighboring China including Vietnam and the Philippines, which are members of the 10-nation Association of South East Asian Nations. The ASEAN foreign ministers' failure this month to come up even with a joint communique on the Sea issue, was reported to be a result of pressure from China, which wants resolution of the issue through bilateral consultations and not a multinational forum such as the ASEAN.

The New York Times said the new Sansha deputies would govern the island groups as well as 2 million square kilometers of the South China Sea over which China claims jurisdiction.

In Hanoi during the weekend, Vietnamese demonstrated against the Chinese claims of sovereignty in the South China Sea, shouting "the Spratly and Paracel Islands belong to Vietnam!" and "Down with Chinese aggression!," Britain's Guardian reported.

The Philippines' GMA News reported the latest Chinese announcements are part of a series of recent actions that have expanded China's physical presence in the vast disputed waters and defied condemnation around the region. The report said the Philippine government already has lodged a diplomatic protest against China's establishment of Sansha City, saying it infringes on Philippine sovereign rights over the waters and continental shelf of the West Philippine Sea.

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China strengthens islands claims