China has created some 1,500 acres of new sovereign territory in the South China Sea this year alone and has indicated it will defend that territory just as it would the mainland.
China’s frantic land-building is strategic in nature as they try to expand their sphere of influence into the South China Sea.
The commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Admiral Harry Harris, has described China’s island enhancement program as part of a “pattern of provocative actions” towards smaller South China Sea states.
But island-building in regions like the Spratly Islands plays well to China’s nationalistic domestic audience and also appears to be aimed at reinforcing China’s territorial and maritime claims in a potentially resource-rich area.
Such activities could, however, have dire consequences for the region’s marine environment and vital fisheries.
Around 10% of the global fishing catch is estimated to come from the South China Sea, making access to its waters critical to regional food security.
There has also long been speculation concerning potential oil and gas resources underlying disputed waters — but that’s uncertain precisely because of the existence of the competing claims.
China is a latecomer to the land rush in the South China Sea and that is part of the reason they are trying to literally build up their amount of land.
As a result, China was left with the smaller, more tenuous features to occupy, often comprising extremely low elevation or at least partially submerged features. Of the eight features occupied by China in the Spratly Islands, five of them are no more than low-tide elevations (that is, features submerged at high tide but exposed at low tide). These do not even qualify for the definition of \”island\” under international law. The remainder are arguably mere rocks.
So building up and expanding these tiny features is an attractive option in order to add substance (literally) to China’s physical presence among the disputed islands of the South China Sea.
China’s claims their island activities are benign
Beijing has assured the U.S. that its reclamation efforts will not threaten freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea. And it has suggested that other countries, including the U.S., might be able to use its new facilities “when conditions are ripe.”
The other claimant states are unlikely to take up this offer, since to do so would imply that they recognize China’s right to build such facilities and thus its sovereignty claims.
More ominously, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying has said that while certain other countries were keeping silent regarding their own island construction activities, they “point the finger at China’s normal activities on its own territory”, something that was “an out-and-out double standard.”
However, the latest military intelligence shows a military buildup by China which belies their claims the island building is civilian in nature and for enhancing search and rescue operations in the South China Sea.
U.S. surveillance imagery shows China has positioned weaponry on one of the artificial islands it is developing in the South China Sea, American officials said, supporting their suspicions that Beijing has been building up reefs for military purposes.
The U.S. imagery detected two Chinese motorized artillery pieces on one of the artificial islands built by China about one month ago. While the artillery wouldn’t pose a threat to U.S. planes or ships, U.S. officials said it could reach neighboring islands and that its presence was at odds with China’s public statements that the reclaimed islands are mainly for civilian use.