Island expansion is discernibly reasonable

Worrywarts upset themselves by worrying about troubles of their own imagining, and trigger mass hysteria if they find receptive ears for their fears. This is what keeps happening with China's so-called island building in the South China Sea.

This time it is a report by the overseas edition of People's Daily - with the remark that the country's permanent land area in the waters has "expanded conspicuously" after recent reclamation work - that seems to have given rise to the heebie-jeebies.

Not everyone likes China's claim of sovereignty over those islands and reefs, and its construction of various facilities, including defensive and radar installations, is viewed with dismay and concern. Likewise, the increasingly frequent long-distance patrol flights conducted by the People's Liberation Army Air Force have prompted all kinds of unnecessary speculation and interpretations.