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posted by martyb on Sunday April 12 2015, @03:25AM   Printer-friendly
from the [im]plausible-deniability dept.

Matthew Fisher reports that to support part of its claim to about 85 per cent of the South China Sea, Beijing is building artificial islands on tiny outcroppings, atolls and reefs in hotly disputed waters in the Spratly Archipelago.

Tons of sand, rocks, coral cuttings, and concrete are transforming miniscule Chinese-occupied outcroppings into sizable islands with harbors, large multi-story buildings, airstrips, and other government facilities. Adm. Harry Harris Jr., commander of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific fleet, dubbed Beijing’s island-building project in the South China Sea “a great wall of sand" and says China has created “over four square kilometers of artificial land mass,” adding there were serious questions about Beijing’s intentions. The scale of China's construction in the Spratly Islands is clear in new satellite images. "What's really stunning in these images, every time you see a new set of images come out, is just the speed and scale at which this work is occurring," says Mira Rapp-Hooper.

A spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry insists the islands are being built to give ships a haven in the typhoon heavy region. “We are building shelters, aids for navigation, search and rescue as well as marine meteorological forecasting services, fishery services and other administrative services” for both China and its neighbors, the spokeswoman said, according to Reuters, though no one was buying that explanation.

 
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 12 2015, @03:46AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 12 2015, @03:46AM (#169229)

    China has developed technology to thwart rising sea levels?

  • (Score: 2) by davester666 on Sunday April 12 2015, @04:17AM

    by davester666 (155) on Sunday April 12 2015, @04:17AM (#169239)

    Yeah, it's not a secret. Just pile more dirt on your land. This trick works everywhere.

    I expect the US gov't to pay for this to happen along both coasts "to preserve our way of life".

    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 12 2015, @04:21AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 12 2015, @04:21AM (#169242)

      "to preserve our way of life".

      Waterboarding and warmongering?

    • (Score: 2) by deimios on Sunday April 12 2015, @04:47AM

      by deimios (201) Subscriber Badge on Sunday April 12 2015, @04:47AM (#169247) Journal

      And since we know that China is good at it, why not pay them to do the same in the US?

      • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 12 2015, @04:49AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 12 2015, @04:49AM (#169248)

        Sure, we already pay Mexicans to steal our dirt, why not pay Chinese to put it back.