In the South China Sea, America is churning waters claimed by China
It is decrying Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea much more emphatically
CHINA HAS been trying to turn the South China Sea, which is bigger than the Mediterranean, into a Chinese lake for the better part of a decade. In the Spratly archipelago, which is claimed wholly or in part by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam, it has built 13 square kilometres of artificial islands atop specks of reef and rock. The constructions bristle with missiles and bomber-sized bunkers. Coastguard vessels and even a “maritime militia” of fishing boats also help project power far from China’s shores.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “South China scene”
Asia July 25th 2020
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From the July 25th 2020 edition
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