The Australian government is reportedly considering conducting reconnaissance flights over China's "artificial islands" as international tensions mount over the Asian nation's land reclamation project.

The Abbott government is likely to deploy a P-3 maritime reconnaissance aircraft to survey one of China's new artificial islands in the South China Sea, The Australian has reported.

The RAAF plane will reportedly fly out of a Malaysian air base to within 12 nautical miles (22km) of an island - considered to be within international "freedom of reconnaissance" limits.

A recent US aircraft on a similar mission was recently met with repeated demands to leave as it approached one of China's new ocean bastions.

China claims sovereignty over a large part of the South China Sea, which is a cause of tension with nations including Vietnam and the Philippines.