MANILA: The US Navy plans to build two repair facilities for smaller vessels operating in the western Philippines, the US embassy said Wednesday (Jul 16), with one about 240km east of a fiercely contested reef in the South China Sea . Located in the Spratly archipelago, the Second Thomas Shoal hosts a small detachment of Philippine forces aboard a grounded navy vessel and has been the site of clashes with Chinese ships. Beijing claims almost the entirety of the crucial waterway despite an