China defended its massive military construction and development projects in the disputed South China Sea Wednesday.
“China’s construction in the South China Sea has turned its islands into the best-equipped, most advanced bases in the region with airports, hospitals, agriculture and 4G mobile signal,” the Global Times argued, citing a Chinese military publication.
The South China Sea is a highly-contested region where more than $5 trillion in trade passes annually. The disputes in this region have at times triggered skirmishes and open conflict at sea. China, which claims the vast majority of the South China Sea, has been at the heart of most major incidents. A particular point of contention is China’s construction of military outposts.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague discredited China’s claims to the South China Sea on July 12, yet China has continued its questionable activities.
China asserts that its military bases in the South China Sea will help the region and the world.
“These facilities will service every country around the South China Sea and the ships which are crossing this region,” South China Sea expert Liu Feng introduced.
“In the past, if any marine or air accidents happened in this region, it would be very difficult to conduct search and rescue operations because there were no modern bases and facilities in the region,” Liu added. “But now China has built airports, hospitals, and lighthouses, these will make rescue missions much easier than before.”
Other regional claimant states have also attempted to build on the reefs and islands, however, the scale of their operations “cannot be compared to China’s efforts,” the Global Times noted.
“When the US sends their warships to scare us, we just fill in one or two more islands to make ourselves calm down,” Jin Canrong, associate dean of the School of International Studies at the Renmin University of China, previously told interviewers.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said in September of last year that China would not militarize the disputed islands in the South China Sea.
The People’s Liberation Army, however, has noted the strategic significance of controlling the South China Sea. “This region is advantageous geographically, and when conflict begins, who controls this region will dominate,” an unidentified military official told Global Military in late January.
“Our duty and determination to guard our territory will never change,” Kou Zhilin, a squad leader on Chigua reef, told Chinese reporters.
The U.S. has conducted freedom of navigation operations in waters claimed by the Chinese four times since October 2015.
President-elect Donald Trump blasted China Sunday on Twitter for building “a massive military complex in the middle of the South China Sea.”
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