China to build school on disputed islands

China plans to build a school on the disputed Paracel Islands, BBC News reported, without citing a source. The move would boost China’s presence in waters also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. China calls the island Yongxing and has been building up a settlement there for the last two years. The school is expected to serve just 40 children, whose parents all work on the tiny island. Last month, Chinese and Vietnamese ships clashed over a drilling rig that China has placed near the islands. Beijing claims a U-shaped swathe of the South China Sea.