In a move that risks increasing regional tensions, China yesterday announced it will invest more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion) to build infrastructure on disputed islands in the South China Sea and to strengthen marine law enforcement in the region.
Citing Hainan Province Governor Jiang Dingzhi (蔣定之), the Guangzhou-based 21st Century Herald reported that China would build an airport, piers and other important infrastructure on islands administered by Sansha (三沙), a prefecture-level city under Hainan’s jurisdiction that was created in July following approval by the State Council in June.
Located on Woody Island (Yongxing Island, 永興島), the largest island in the Paracels (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島) and 350km southeast of Hainan, Sansha “administers” more than 200 islets, sandbanks and reefs and their surrounding waters in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), Macclesfield Bank (Zhongsha Islands, 中沙群島) and the Paracel chains.
Photo: AFP
Some of the construction has already begun, the paper said, without providing details.
The Industrial and Commercial Administration Bureau of Hainan Province announced in September that the establishment of Sansha had caught the attention of investors, with the bureau receiving “multiple queries” about setting up businesses in Sansha.
A construction company and a tourism investment company received approval in August and September respectively, Chinese media said.
According to a report in Caijing magazine, officials in Sansha have been evaluating various commercial development plans, including the establishment of a tax haven and casino resorts.
While serving to create facts on the ground to bolster China’s sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, the investment projects have been a source of tension with other claimants, forcing Beijing to add a security component to the project.
In July, China’s Central Military Commission approved the creation of a military garrison on Sansha.
Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei also have claims to some of the islets. Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島), the largest islet in the Spratlys, is controlled by Taiwan.
According to the Herald, Jiang added that in addition to supporting infrastructure, the funds would be used to acquire marine law enforcement vessels and supply ships.
Under new rules announced last month and which are to come into effect on Tuesday next week, police in Hainan will have the authority to board and seize control of foreign ships that “illegally” enter Chinese waters. It remains unclear whether the directive only pertains to coastal areas near Hainan Island or to the entire body of water administered by Sansha.
Chinese media reported at the time that the government would also send new maritime surveillance ships to supplement the fleet responsible for patrolling the South China Sea.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
The paramount chief of a volcanic island in Vanuatu yesterday said that he was “very impressed” by a UN court’s declaration that countries must tackle climate change. Vanuatu spearheaded the legal case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, which on Wednesday ruled that countries have a duty to protect against the threat of a warming planet. “I’m very impressed,” George Bumseng, the top chief of the Pacific archipelago’s island of Ambrym, told reporters in the capital, Port Vila. “We have been waiting for this decision for a long time because we have been victims of this climate change for
MASSIVE LOSS: If the next recall votes also fail, it would signal that the administration of President William Lai would continue to face strong resistance within the legislature The results of recall votes yesterday dealt a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) efforts to overturn the opposition-controlled legislature, as all 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers survived the recall bids. Backed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) DPP, civic groups led the recall drive, seeking to remove 31 out of 39 KMT lawmakers from the 113-seat legislature, in which the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together hold a majority with 62 seats, while the DPP holds 51 seats. The scale of the recall elections was unprecedented, with another seven KMT lawmakers facing similar votes on Aug. 23. For a
Taiwan must invest in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to keep abreast of the next technological leap toward automation, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said at the luanch ceremony of Taiwan AI and Robots Alliance yesterday. The world is on the cusp of a new industrial revolution centered on AI and robotics, which would likely lead to a thorough transformation of human society, she told an event marking the establishment of a national AI and robotics alliance in Taipei. The arrival of the next industrial revolution could be a matter of years, she said. The pace of automation in the global economy can
All 24 lawmakers of the main opposition Chinese Nationalists Party (KMT) on Saturday survived historical nationwide recall elections, ensuring that the KMT along with Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers will maintain opposition control of the legislature. Recall votes against all 24 KMT lawmakers as well as Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) and KMT legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) failed to pass, according to Central Election Commission (CEC) figures. In only six of the 24 recall votes did the ballots cast in favor of the recall even meet the threshold of 25 percent of eligible voters needed for the recall to pass,
RSS