China released a five-year plan to develop research on clean energy through establishment of a research center in the South China Sea.
The announcement was made by the State Oceanic Administration and is a sign of increasing influence over the disputed waters.
The administration said that they plan to conduct resource assessment and building of public service platforms in the South China Sea and island regions.
China's aggressiveness over the territory is triggering attention in the U.S. as well. Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump's secretary of state nominee, suggested that the U.S. "send China a clear signal that, first, the island-building stops, and second, your access to those islands also is not going to be allowed."
China responded through its state media and said, "unless Washington plans to wage a large-scale war in the South China Sea, any other approaches to prevent Chinese access to the islands will be foolish."
"Tillerson had better bone up on nuclear power strategies if he wants to force a big nuclear power to withdraw from its own territories," the statement added.
Bonnie Glaser, a senior adviser for Asia and the director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, did not agree with Tillerson.
"Some of the things Tillerson said were contradictory," Glaser said.
Glaser agreed with retired Gen. James Mattis, Trump's defense secretary nominee.
"The bottom line is the international waters are international waters, and we have got to figure out how do we deal with holding on to the kind of rules that we have made over many years," Mattis said.