China is building new harbors and airstrips on various reefs and atolls in the Spratly Islands — facilities that, Beijing confirms, will be used for military as well as civil purposes. The U.S. and its allies in the region need to weigh their response with care.
New images showing the extent of these land-reclamation efforts in the South China Sea have aroused concern, and critics are accusing the Barack Obama administration of fecklessness in the face of provocation. The issue isn’t quite so clear-cut. Sharper thinking is needed about when and how to challenge China’s growing assertiveness.
Territorial Disputes
While claiming that the construction was intended for “typhoon shelters, navigation aids, search-and-rescue centers, marine meteorological forecasting stations” and the like, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson admitted the new installations would also be used for military purposes. They’ll enable Chinese naval vessels to refuel, and jet fighters to patrol, far from the mainland. They could help China impose a threatened air-defense identification zone over the South China Sea. In January, even foreign ministers from the normally reticent Association of Southeast Asian Nations expressed “concern” at the scale of recent construction.
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