Spotlight: Long history of illegal land reclamation at sea by Philippines, Vietnam

For years, the Philippines and Vietnam have built infrastructures on islands and reefs or even artificial islands in the South China Sea, in an attempt to consolidate their illegal occupation, justify their claims for "sovereignty" or exclusive economic zones and continental shelves.

Facts speak louder than words. Xinhua correspondents have recently conducted a series of interviews and research to expose such illegal activities by the two nations.

THE PHILIPPINES ILLEGALLY OCCUPIES, EXPANDS CHINA'S ISLANDS

China has indisputable sovereignty over its South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters. However, after World War II ended and the Cold War began, the Philippines started to covet those islands.

In the 1970s, the Philippines, in violation of international law including the Charter of the United Nations (UN) and the basic norms of international relations, illegally seized control of eight islands and reefs that are part of China's Nansha Islands.

The seized Chinese islands and reefs are Mahuan Dao, Feixin Dao, Zhongye Dao, Beizi Dao, Nanyao Dao, Xiyue Dao, Shuanghuang Shazhou and Siling Jiao. Manila also attempted to encroach on China's Ren'ai Jiao and Huangyan Dao.

Over the years, the Philippines has continuously built and expanded facilities on those illegally seized islands and reefs, as well as deployed military forces on them.

On Zhongye Dao, for example, the Philippines constructed an office building, dozens of residential buildings, an airstrip guarded by two 40mm-caliber anti-aircraft guns, and a nearly four-story-high sentry tower at the highest point of the island, the Philippine Star quoted reporters invited to visit the island by the Philippine military in May 2015 as saying.

With dozens of Philippine soldiers stationed on the island, there are also barracks, a medical center and a temporary dock, through which supplies are shipped in every three months.

According to the Filipinos now living on Zhongye Dao, Manila provides every household on the island with 16 kg of rice, some canned food and noodles every half month, all free of charge so as to boost migration and achieve the so-called "manifestation of sovereignty."

However, due to the country's limited logistics capabilities, the island can currently only accommodate around 200 people, with a civilian population ceiling of 110.

Ironically, while announcing a halt on further construction on Zhongye Dao not long ago, the Philippine government dispatched several transport aircraft to the island to deliver a large amount of construction materials, believed to be needed for an airport upgrading project.

In addition, the Philippines has built so-called "tourist facilities" on some of the seized Chinese islands, such as Zhongye Dao, Mahuan Dao and Feixin Dao.

VIETNAM EXPANDS LAND RECLAMATION FROM SEA

Media reports said Vietnam started to reclaim land from the sea on its illegally seized islands in the South China Sea as early as the 1980s and the 1990s. It has expanded land reclamation in the past two years.

Currently, Vietnam has reclaimed land from the sea on more than 20 South China Sea islands and reefs, on which Vietnam has built a lot of infrastructures including harbor basins, an airstrip, missile positions, office buildings, barracks, hotels and lighthouses.

Vietnam has also built many water chalets and helicopter platforms on shoals such as Wan'an Tan, Xiwei Tan, Lizhun Tan and Aonan Ansha.

A report released in May by the U.S. Center for Strategic and International Studies' Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative said that satellite photos showed at least 10 sites of Vietnamese construction throughout the region.

Together, Vietnam has built on slightly more than 120 acres (about 48.56 hectares) of land mainly in Nanwei Dao, Xi Jiao and Jinghong Dao; most of the construction work was carried out in the past two years.

Among them, Nanwei Dao is considered by Vietnam as the "military command center" and the "administrative center" for illegally occupying the Nansha Islands. The area of land reclaimed on Nanwei Dao has reached 37.19 acres (about 15 hectares), with military forces stationed and military camps built on the island.

Since April and May 2015, Vietnam has conducted large-scale expansion of the airport and the harbor on Nanwei Dao. On the northeastern side of the island, Vietnam has carried out a harbor basin construction project, including digging a large harbor basin and building a breakwater, while transporting the digged coral sands to the southwest of the island to reclaim land for airport expansion.

On Xi Jiao, Vietnam built a lighthouse and some military infrastructures in 1994 and began large-scale land reclamation and military infrastructure construction in 2011. Satellite photos showed that the area of the land Vietnam has reclaimed on Xi Jiao from the sea has reached 70.5 acres (about 28.5 hectares) in April, 34 times larger than Xi Jiao's original land area.

On Jinghong Dao, Vietnam started to reclaim land in 2006; the area of reclaimed land has reached 26.07 acres (about 10.5 hectares) in March, more than three times larger than the island's original land area. Military camps, family areas and residential areas have been set up on the island. Endi