NBC News — China has rolled out the red carpet for its newest city, on a small, remote island in the South China Sea that is also claimed by Vietnam. China tuesday formally established the city of Sansha to bolster its claim on the area's oil and gas-rich waters.

The move is likely to anger China's neighbors in a dispute that has at times led to tense maritime standoffs. Sansha is 13 hours from the mainland by boat. It has a post office, bank, supermarket and hospital, but little else.