Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




SUPERPOWERS
China defends land reclamation on disputed islands
By Benjamin HAAS
Beijing (AFP) April 9, 2015


Beijing reaffirmed its right to build on disputed islands in the South China Sea on Thursday after satellite imagery emerged of construction operations turning tropical reefs into concrete artificial islands.

The newly released images prompted concern from the United States, which warned China that its island building activity posed a threat to regional stability.

"In our view, China's land reclamation and the construction activity are fuelling greater anxiety within the region," State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke told reporters.

Rathke said Washington is concerned that China "might militarise outposts on disputed land features of the South China Sea.

"So we are watching these developments closely and we continue to raise our concerns with China as well as with others in the region to urge all parties to avoid destabilising activities," Rathke said.

The Philippines -- one of the most vocal of China's neighbours in defending its competing territorial claim -- reacted strongly, calling for the Asian giant to "dismantle" the reclaimed land.

"They have to dismantle it," said Peter Paul Galvez, spokesman for Manila's defence department. "It is a concern not only of our country and region but of the whole international community."

A series of satellite images posted on the website of the Center for Strategic and International Studies show a flotilla of Chinese vessels dredging sand onto Mischief Reef and the resulting land spreading in size.

Before-and-after images of other outcrops in the Spratly Islands record runways appearing from jungle, smooth-sided solid masses where coral once lay, and man-made harbours replacing natural reefs.

Analysts say the pictures show how China is attempting to create facts in the water to bolster its sovereignty claims.

Beijing asserts sovereignty over almost the whole of the South China Sea, including areas close to the coasts of other littoral states, using a nine-segment line based on one that first appeared on Chinese maps in the 1940s.

The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan all have overlapping claims.

- 'Indisputable sovereignty' -

"China exerts indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha islands and affiliated waters," said foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, using the Chinese name for the islands, which literally means "Southern Sand".

"Such construction is totally within China's sovereignty, and it is legitimate, sensible and lawful. It does not influence nor target any specific country."

The works were to "safeguard the territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests of China", she said, adding: "We will build more civilian facilities."

The Philippines has taken its sovereignty claim to the United Nations for arbitration, a process rejected by Beijing.

Manila has troops stationed on some islands it controls, which also have civilian residents.

"As we have mentioned more than once, actually since this administration started, we have been warning everyone of the implications of their (China's) actions, of their aggressive means so like today, these reclamations... will have further implications in the long term," defence spokesman Galvez told AFP.

The South China Sea is home to strategically vital shipping lanes and is believed to be rich in oil and gas, and the territorial dispute has raised concerns in Washington, with the US asserting that freedom of navigation is in its national interest.

The new satellite photographs were taken by Digital Globe, a commercial provider of satellite images, and analysed by CSIS.

"It appears that China's building projects are part of an expansive territorial grab or to make China's disputed Nine-Dash Line claim a reality," US Navy Lieutenant Commander Wilson VornDick wrote in an analysis on the CSIS site.

The director of the centre's Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, Mira Rapp-Hooper, told the New York Times: "China's building activities at Mischief Reef are the latest evidence that Beijing's land reclamation is widespread and systematic."

US admiral Harry Harris last month reportedly said that Chinese reclamation efforts in the area had created more than four square kilometres of artificial landmass.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





SUPERPOWERS
Poland to build watch towers at Russia's Kaliningrad border
Warsaw (AFP) April 6, 2015
Poland will build six watchtowers to survey its 200-kilometre-long border with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, the police said Monday. The six towers will be up to 50 metres (164 feet) high and ready in June for round-the-clock surveillance, the spokeswoman for Poland's border police told the PAP news agency. They will cost more than 14 million zloty (3.7 million euros, $3.8 million) ... read more


SUPERPOWERS
Will the moon's first inhabitants live in giant lava tubes?

Soft Landing on the Moon an Extraordinary Challenge

Stop blaming the moon

Extent of Moon's giant volcanic eruption is revealed

SUPERPOWERS
Scars on Mars from 2012 Rover Landing Fade - Usually

Bill Nye and others discussing taking humans to Mars by 2033

Media Spun Up on NASA Cutting-edge Mars Landing Technology

Curiosity Sniffs Out History of Martian Atmosphere

SUPERPOWERS
Air Scrubber Plus Brings Space Age Technology Down To Earth

NASA Announces New Partnerships with Industry for Deep-Space Skills

A Year in Space

Russia to Consider Training First Guatemalan Cosmonaut

SUPERPOWERS
Chinese scientists mull power station in space

China completes second test on new carrier rocket's power system

China's Yutu rover reveals Moon's "complex" geological history

China's Space Laboratory Still Cloaked

SUPERPOWERS
Cosmonauts Take Tablet Computer Into Space

Russia announces plan to build new space station with NASA

Soyuz spacecraft docks at ISS for year-long mission

One-Year Crew Set for Launch to Space Station

SUPERPOWERS
Soyuz Installed at Baikonur, Expected to Launch Wednesday

Soyuz ready March 27 flight to deploy two Galileo navsats

UAE Moves to Purchase Russian Spacecraft Launch Platform

Russia Launches Satan Missile With S Korean Kompsat 3A Satellite

SUPERPOWERS
Earthlike 'Star Wars' Tatooines may be common

Planets in the habitable zone around most stars, calculate researchers

Our Solar System May Have Once Harbored Super-Earths

SOFIA Finds Missing Link Between Supernovae and Planet Formation

SUPERPOWERS
Raytheon expands radar production facility

Upgrade in works for Norway's counter-battery radar

ISRO Says Multi-Object Tracking Radar Ready for Trials

Camera chip provides superfine 3-D resolution




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.