The real story behind China's island construction

Recent Western media coverage of the South China Sea, including a BBC article that portrays routine Chinese activities as a new era of "grabbing what you can", continues the trend of distorting the picture.

Lingyang Reef is part of China's Xisha Islands. China's sovereignty over the Xisha Islands is longstanding, well-documented and not open to question. It is grounded in centuries of historical evidence and consistent legal title, rather than being the product of any recent assertion.

China was the first country to discover, name, develop and exercise administration over the Xisha Islands. As far back as the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1126 AD), the Chinese government incorporated the islands into its jurisdiction and dispatched naval patrols to the area. In 1909, Admiral Li Zhun of the Qing Dynasty's Guangdong Fleet conducted an official inspection, raised the Chinese flag on Yongxing Island and fired cannons to affirm sovereignty. Following the establishment of the Republic of China in 1911, the government formally placed the Xisha Islands and adjacent waters under the administration of Yaxian County on Hainan Island.

Even when the islands were temporarily occupied by Japan during WWII, China never relinquished its claim. In November 1946, after Japan's 1945 surrender, the Chinese government dispatched senior officials aboard warships to take formal receipt of the Xisha Islands. They erected monuments, stationed troops and restored effective administration. In 1959, Beijing set up the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha Islands Administrative Office. In January 1974, Chinese forces and civilians successfully defended Coral and Ganquan islands against armed incursions by South Vietnamese troops, safeguarding China's territorial integrity. This historical title has been repeatedly reaffirmed in modern Chinese legislation, including the 1992 Law on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, the 1996 declaration of territorial sea baselines around the Xisha Islands, and the 2012 establishment of Sansha city and related government organs on Yongxing Island.

It is against this clear and unbroken background of sovereignty that the modest construction work on Lingyang Reef should be understood. The work is neither sudden nor aggressive, it represents the normal exercise of sovereign authority on home territory.

For generations, Chinese fishermen operating in the South China Sea have faced extremely tough conditions. They work far from shore, exposed for weeks on end to scorching sun, strong winds, heavy rain and sudden typhoons, often with nowhere safe to rest or repair their boats. Improving living standards for these citizens is a direct outcome of the people-centered development approach that shapes Chinese policy. Now that the country possesses the capability and resources, it is both practical and responsible to invest in basic infrastructure on the islands. This is a response to repeated calls from the fishing communities who have relied on these waters for their livelihoods for hundreds of years.

The upgrades also bring wider benefits to the region as a whole. Better facilities on Lingyang Reef strengthen China's capacity to provide practical public services: more accurate weather forecasting, faster and more effective disaster prevention and relief, expanded marine scientific research, and enhanced safety for the busy international shipping lanes that pass through the South China Sea. These are genuine international public goods. They help reduce risks for commercial vessels, fishing boats and all users of the sea, regardless of nationality. Rather than militarization, the purpose is peaceful and constructive — making the waters safer for everyone who depends on them.

From the perspective of both history and international law, the legitimacy of these activities is beyond dispute. Sovereignty over the Xisha Islands has long been settled. On its own territory, every country enjoys the inherent right to build and maintain necessary facilities; this is a basic principle, recognized by the international community.

As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, China acts strictly within the framework of international law. The construction on Lingyang Reef is peaceful in nature and benefits the public. It is not directed against any neighbor. It aims instead at better safeguarding national territory while delivering practical help to people and vessels that use the area.

Attempts to label this work a part of "the new reality" of tension only obscure the facts. China has never sought to alter the status quo through force. It has consistently defended its established rights while advocating dialogue, practical cooperation and the early conclusion of a code of conduct in the South China Sea.

The real foundation for lasting stability lies in respecting historical facts, observing international law and focusing on shared development rather than manufactured confrontation. China remains firmly committed to that path, and to working with countries in the region to keep the South China Sea a zone of peace, cooperation and mutual benefit.

The author is the director of the Center for International and Regional Studies, National Institute for South China Sea Studies.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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