April 3, 2015
China’s assertive maritime claims featured prominently in a speech from U.S. Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Harry B. Harris to the #FSFleet dinner this week.
In noting that overlapping maritime claims in the South China Sea heightened prospects for miscalculation, Harris drew attention to China’s land reclamation activities in the Spratly Islands which have “now created over four square kilometers of artificial landmass, roughly the size of Canberra’s Black Mountain Nature Reserve.” Harris commented on China’s creation of a “great wall of sand,” and noted that the “scope and pace of building man-made islands raise serious questions about Chinese intentions.” (See here for satellite images clearly showing China’s efforts, as published by the CSIS’ Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.)
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