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| Fiery Cross Reef/Island |
WASHINGTON — China has dramatically ramped up its land reclamation efforts in the South China Sea this year, building artificial islands at an unprecedented pace to bolster its territorial claims in the disputed area, US officials said Friday.
The rapid construction of artificial islands in the strategic waters comes to 2,000 acres (800 hectares), with 75 percent of the total in the last five months, officials said.
"China has expanded the acreage on the outposts it occupies by some four hundred times," said a US defense official.
The United States did not endorse land reclamation by any of the countries with territorial claims in the South China Sea, but "the pace and scale of China's land reclamation in recent years dwarfs that of any other claimant," the official said.
The South China Sea is home to strategically vital shipping lanes and is believed to be rich in oil and gas. Washington is concerned China's efforts carry a military dimension that could undermine America's naval and economic power in the Pacific.
Washington urged restraint, and said the land reclamation could threaten regional stability.
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