No, “in the vicinity of the Caroline Islands” is quite a ways from the South China Sea. 2-3k miles.
We haven’t come anywhere near mapping the entire ocean, and seamounts can pop up quite quickly. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/underwater-eruptio...
> In 2018, seismometers around the world detected mysterious rumbles emanating from a usually quiet area in the Indian Ocean between Comoros and Madagascar. At the time, researchers were astonished to find a 2,690-foot-tall underwater volcano, which is about 1.5 times the height of the One World Trade Center in New York.
As with most conspiracy theories, this one falls apart on even casual examination.