China has begun operating its third lighthouse on a disputed island chain in the South China Sea, state media reported Wednesday.

China Radio International quoted a Ministry of Transport deputy director who attended the completion ceremony on Subi Reef — which Beijing calls Zhubi — as underlining efforts to improve navigation management.

Zheng Heping added Tuesday that the 55-meter-high lighthouse “is equipped with automatic identification system and very high frequency stations, which will provide efficient navigation services such as positioning reference, route guidance and navigation safety information to ships.”

Construction on the lighthouse, which has a lantern with a diameter of 4.5 meters and rotating lights, began last October.

The Zhubi lighthouse is China’s third in the Spratly Islands, after two others began operating on the Huayang and Chigua reefs — also known as Cuarteron and Johnson South, respectively.

While Beijing considers most of the resource-rich South China Sea as its territory, it has overlapping claims with Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam and Brunei.

The sea is a critical asset for global shipping and fishing, as it sees more than $5 trillion in maritime trade every year.

China’s reclamation work in the region, which includes the building of airfields on some of the disputed islands, has prompted the United States and its allies to express alarm over the maritime expansion, which they suspect is aimed at extending its military reach.

In October, the U.S. navy conducted “freedom of navigation” operations in the waters, patrolling within 12 miles (19.3 kilometers) of the Subi Reef in a move Beijing has called “provocative”.

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Anadolu Agency