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| Johnson South reef (File Photo) |
By Zachary Keck
PLA Navy commander Wu Shengli conducted a survey of Beijing’s reclamation projects in the disputed South China Sea.
Mainland China’s naval chief conducted an “unprecedented” survey of a number of disputed islands in the South China Sea, Taiwan announced this week.
Lee Hsiang-chou, the director general of Taiwan’s National Security Bureau, told the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign and Defense Committee on Wednesday that late last month Adm. Wu Shengli, the commander of the People’s Liberation Army Navy, took a weeklong trip to survey China’s reclamation works on five of the disputed Spratly Islands. Lee said that China currently has seven such construction projects in the Spratly islands, five of which have been approved since Xi Jinping took office.
“”The goal of [the reclamation effort] is to turn islets into ramparts and islands into battlefields,” Lee told Taiwanese lawmakers, according to the South China Morning Post.
Lee’s comments were first reported by Taiwanese media outlets.
The reports also said that Lee informed lawmakers that Xi Jinping had personally approved the massive reclamation campaign that China is currently undertaking in the Spratly Islands, which has been adamantly opposed by other regional powers. Besides China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, and Malaysia claim the Spratly Islands in whole or in part.
“All the moves indicated [the mainland] has an overall strategic plan to claim sovereignty in the South China Sea,” Lee said.
Read the full story at The Diplomat