PLAN SCS Bases/Islands/Vessels (Not a Strategy Page)

Further development of assets in the South China Sea...

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China Daily, July 20, 2016

China's top mobile telecom carriers have launched 4G service on the Nansha Islands, in an effort to safeguard the country's legal claim in the South China Sea and to improve communication services for local people.

China Telecommunications Corp, the country's third-largest telecom carrier by subscribers, has expanded its 4G signal to seven reefs of the Nansha Islands, giving islanders faster internet speed and enabling them to make video calls and conduct online commerce.

The move came shortly after the country dismissed the ruling by the Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague that China has no "historic title" over the South China Sea.

China Telecom's larger competitor China Mobile Communications Corp also offers similar services around the region.

"The achievement highlights China's determination to serve local people and passing ships. It also mirrors homegrown telecom companies' cutting-edge technology," said Xiang Ligang, a telecom veteran and CEO of the industry website cctime.com.

The Nansha Islands are in strategic shipping lanes, but they are far away from land, which makes it time-consuming and costly to build telecom infrastructure.

Su Xun, a China Mobile employee in charge of maintaining telecom equipment, said it takes 60 hours by ship to get to the Nansha Islands from Hainan province.

Additionally, telecom equipment is highly vulnerable to seawater corrosion, and it is difficult to ensure a stable supply of electricity to power 4G stations and to transmit signals.

However, Su said, "All of the problems have been properly handled and our efforts finally paid off."

China Mobile has expanded its 4G signal to cover Yongshu Reef and Zhubi Reef of the Nansha Islands, after successfully launching service in the nearby Xisha Islands.

China Telecom has devoted more than 70 million yuan (US$10.5 million) to telecom infrastructure construction in the South China Sea in the past four years. The State-owned company has spent nine months setting up eight base stations around the Nansha Islands.

Fish culture farm near Meiji Island


July 17, 2016. A deepwater fish farming base near Meiji Island. Fishery expert Lin Zailiang started a fish farm in Meiji Island nine years ago. The deepwater fish farming cages have increased to 62. Rare commercial fish cultured here are sold at home and abroad.


July 17, 2016. Fisherman Shi Renping and Lin Shengxi sail towards a deepwater fish farming base near Meiji Island.


July 17, 2016. Fishermen check on fish cultured at a deepwater fish farming base near Meiji Island.


July 17, 2016. Fisherman Shi Renping sails towards a deepwater fish farming base near Meiji Island.

@ahojunk ... is it inside the "lagoon" of Meiji ?

I think the fish is grouper, extremely nice fish ..... sometimes I catch them (normally smaller) in Wellington harbour/coast or cook strait

@antiterror13

Although the caption says "near Meiji Island", I suspect the fish farm is in the lagoon. It makes sense as it is sheltered and and security is provided by three surrounding outposts (before the island was reclaimed).

The size of the lagoon gives it big potential for more fish culture (and tourism).

A reason the entire reef was not reclaimed is to allow the constant flow of sea water to keep the lagoon water "fresh".

I know those islet has sophisticated rain water collection and storage system maybe even cleaning and recycling system
But what those islet desperately need is desalination plant .But it come with their own set of problem.They need enormous amount of energy that realistically can only be met by nuclear reactor
.

Israel has the most advance desalination plant
Some 80 percent of domestic water use in Israeli cities comes from desalinated water, according to Israeli officials.

“There’s no water problem because of the desalination,” said Hila Gil, director of the desalination division in the Israel Water Authority. “The problem is no longer on the agenda.

Read more here:


But China too should be self sufficient in Desalination technology by now . I know they have membrane factory that built high efficient membrane.
But it need political will to built it massive scale
Don't believe what they say in this article

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China has made a breakthrough in desalination technology that could help it produce fresh water on remote islands and also quickly expand habitable areas on reclaimed land or natural islets in the South China Sea, where it is engaged in territorial disputes with several of its Asian neighbours.

Moreover, the country often faces droughts in its arid north and has been looking at ways of getting more fresh or potable water to dry provinces and municipalities. According to a report by Bloomberg in April of last year, the Chinese government has been planning to quadruple desalination by 2020.

As such, the recent test run of a new desalination system that can remove salt and other harmful elements from seawater using heat produced by a diesel generator may come as music to the ears of Chinese authorities.

The system is currently in operation on Guishan Island off the coast of Zhuhai city in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong.


The tests were carried out by a researcher at the Guangzhou Institute of Advanced Technology in Guangdong, and the heat drawn from the generator would otherwise have been considered a waste product, according to an announcement on the institute’s website.

Although the system is intended for peaceful purposes, it has been hailed in some quarters as being of strategic interest to the nation and its military “comparable to an air carrier fleet”.



The last remark was made by a Chinese scientist who was involved with the project but did not want his name used due to the politically sensitive nature of the work.

“It will further tip the balance of power [in the South China Sea],” he added.

Diesel generators are commonly found on islands in the Paracels and other disputed areas in the South China Sea. They generate electricity for military facilities such as radar and communication devices, among other tasks.

On most of the islands controlled by China in the South China Sea, drinking water comes in barrels together with other supplies from small boats, making it as scarce as fuel.

According to reports in the country’s state media, some soldiers could not take a shower for months on end and had to rely on rain water when their water supplies became ruined by the weather.
Some of the smaller islet can used this small scale desalination plant

China has made a breakthrough in desalination technology that could help it produce fresh water on remote islands and also quickly expand habitable areas on reclaimed land or natural islets in the South China Sea, where it is engaged in territorial disputes with several of its Asian neighbours.

Moreover, the country often faces droughts in its arid north and has been looking at ways of getting more fresh or potable water to dry provinces and municipalities. According to a report by Bloomberg in April of last year, the Chinese government has been planning to quadruple desalination by 2020.

As such, the recent test run of a new desalination system that can remove salt and other harmful elements from seawater using heat produced by a diesel generator may come as music to the ears of Chinese authorities.

The system is currently in operation on Guishan Island off the coast of Zhuhai city in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong.

The tests were carried out by a researcher at the Guangzhou Institute of Advanced Technology in Guangdong, and the heat drawn from the generator would otherwise have been considered a waste product, according to an announcement on the institute’s website.

Although the system is intended for peaceful purposes, it has been hailed in some quarters as being of strategic interest to the nation and its military “comparable to an air carrier fleet”.



The last remark was made by a Chinese scientist who was involved with the project but did not want his name used due to the politically sensitive nature of the work.

“It will further tip the balance of power [in the South China Sea],” he added.

Diesel generators are commonly found on islands in the Paracels and other disputed areas in the South China Sea. They generate electricity for military facilities such as radar and communication devices, among other tasks.

On most of the islands controlled by China in the South China Sea, drinking water comes in barrels together with other supplies from small boats, making it as scarce as fuel.

According to reports in the country’s state media, some soldiers could not take a shower for months on end and had to rely on rain water when their water supplies became ruined by the weather.

Nuclear power and desalination are indeed keys to solving China's water supply issues. Need to get those thorium reactors up and running, then they can power the desalination plants as well as the pumps to deliver them to areas of need.

Talking about the devil. Indeed a new waste treatment plant, garbage disposal plant, is now operational and YES a Desalination plant will be operational in August for Sansha(Woody) Island
Here is the video

Sansha City in Hainan province is celebrating the fourth anniversary of its establishment on Sunday. It's the country's largest city in terms of gross area including territorial sea, and infrastructure construction has been ongoing since its establishment in 2012.

A sewage disposal system and a garbage sorting facility have been recently commissioned on the city's largest island, Yongxing. Through 9,000 meters of newly-built or renovated pipelines, all the waste water on the island can be collected into this sewage disposal system.

After procedures such as sedimentation and sterilization, the disposed water can then be used for irrigation and construction purposes. Nearly all the city's rubbish can be processed through the garbage sorting facility. A desalination plant is also under construction and is expected to be put into use at the end of August.

dingyibvs said:

Nuclear power and desalination are indeed keys to solving China's water supply issues. Need to get those thorium reactors up and running, then they can power the desalination plants as well as the pumps to deliver them to areas of need.

Click to expand...

SFGATE
Look like 60 MW miniature plant . That should provide plenty of power . But I agree thorium cycle will be much safer as this facility will be bombed to pieces in conflict

BEIJING (AP) — China's ambitions to become a pioneer in nuclear energy are sailing into troubled waters.

Two state-owned companies plan to develop floating nuclear reactors, a technology engineers have been considering since the 1970s for use by oil rigs or island communities. Beijing is racing Russia, which started developing its own in 2007, to get a unit into commercial operation.

In China's case, the achievement would be tempered by concern its reactors might be sent into harm's way to support oil exploration in the South China Sea, where Beijing faces conflicting territorial claims by neighbors including Vietnam and the Philippines. Chinese news reports say plans call for deploying 20 reactors there, though neither developer has mentioned the area.

Tensions ratcheted up after a arbitration panel ruled July 12 that Beijing's claim to most of the sea has no legal basis. Beijing rejected the decision in a case brought by the Philippines and announced it would hold war games in the area, where its military has built artificial islands.

The floating reactor plans reflect Beijing's determination to create profitable technologies in fields from energy to mobile phones and to curb growing reliance on imported oil and gas, which communist leaders see as a security risk.

China is the most active builder of nuclear power plants, with 32 reactors in operation, 22 under construction and more planned. It relies heavily on U.S., French and Russian technology but is developing its own.

The latest initiatives are led by and have research or consulting agreements with Electric Co. and France's EDF and Areva, but say their floating plants will use homegrown technology.

"They are keen to develop that because they have a lot of oil drilling everywhere in the South China Sea and overseas as well," said -lam, an engineering professor at the who has worked with a CGN subsidiary on unrelated projects.

"The Chinese strategy is to ensure the energy supply for the country," said Luk. "Oil drilling needs energy, and with that supply, they could speed up operations."

Russia's first floating commercial reactor, the Academician Lomonosov, is due to be delivered in 2018, but the project has suffered repeated delays. The Russians have yet to announce a commercial customer.

Russia has been "aiming to launch this idea for over two decades by pitching the reactor as a plug-and-play option for fairly remote communities," said , an expert on nuclear policy for the , in an email.

Russia's target market was Indonesia and its far-flung islands, Hibbs said. That prompted concern about control over nuclear materials, leading to a recommendation Russia operate the reactor and take back used fuel.

The Chinese nuclear agency signed a deal with Moscow in 2014 to build floating power stations using Russian technology. It is unclear whether that will go ahead given the plans by CNG and CNNC to develop their own vessels.

Chinese developers can count on sales to the state-owned oil industry without going abroad.

CGN has signed a contract with Corp. to support oil and gas exploration at sea. The company says it will launch its first vessel by 2020, with plans for 20 more. It declined an interview request and did not respond to written questions.

CNNC plans a demonstration unit by 2019.

A floating nuclear plant probably would be too costly just to supply power but could be useful in oil and gas exploration by also providing heat and fresh water, Luk said. He said CGN engineers told him their design is meant for islands or other remote sites.

Tensions with Vietnam have flared over Chinese oil and gas exploration near the Vietnamese coast. In January, Vietnam complained a Chinese oil company had towed a drilling rig into disputed waters. In 2014, the same rig was parked off Vietnam's central coast for two months, leading to violent anti-Chinese demonstrations and confrontations at sea as Chinese vessels rammed Vietnamese boats to prevent them from approaching the rig.

Reactors have been used on warships since the 1950s. But those vessels regularly visit port for maintenance and face little security risk because they are heavily armed.

"The security concerns are clear: such reactors would be tempting targets for military or terrorist attacks," , a nuclear specialist for the in Washington, said in an email. "Maintaining the full contingent of security officers necessary to effectively deter attack would not be feasible."

Other perils include stormy seas — the South China Sea is buffeted by powerful seasonal typhoons — and the need to exchange radioactive fuel at distant sites.

CGN says its seaborne unit will have "passive safety," or features that function without moving parts or outside power, such as control rods that drop by gravity in an emergency. No commercial reactor operates with such features.

"There are questions about how reliable passive safety systems will be in extreme conditions," Lyman said.

CGN wants to simplify operations by requiring refueling only once every three years instead of the industry standard of 18 months, Luk said. That would require more highly enriched fuel, with the amount of the U-235 isotope raised to as much as 10 percent from the typical 4.5 percent.

"If it were seized by terrorists or someone else, that would be a big problem," he said.

China's aggressive pursuit of nuclear technology has run afoul of U.S. law enforcement.

In April, a Chinese-born American engineer employed by CGN was charged with recruiting experts in the United States to help the company with reactor construction without applying for required government permission. , also known as Szuhsiung Ho, also was charged in federal court in Tennessee with acting illegally as an agent of a foreign government.

Under a 2007 agreement, Westinghouse transferred to another government company, the Corp., technology for its latest model, the AP1000. It was to become the basis for future Chinese reactors that could be sold abroad, but CGN and CNNC pressed ahead with development of their own models.

CGN says its 60-megawatt floating reactor, the ACPR50, is a version of the land-based ACPR100 reactor. CNNC says its seaborne unit will be based on another reactor, the ACP100, but has released no other details.

Westinghouse has no role in the ACPR50's development, according to a company spokeswoman, Courtney Boone. EDF and Areva did not respond to requests for information about their possible role.

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Some pictures of the Sansha Yongle Blue Hole in the Xisha Islands.


A view of the newly named Sansha Yongle Blue Hole in Xisha Islands in Sansha, July 24, 2016. The almost vertical blue hole, located at 16°31′30″north latitude and 111°46′05″east longitude, measures 130 meters in diameter at the top entrance and 36 meters at the bottom, and is not connected with the ocean. The blue hole is 300.89 meters deep, the deepest blue hole in the world, surpassing the current record of 202 meters. [Photo/China News Service]


Researchers investigate the newly named Sansha Yongle Blue Hole in Xisha Islands, July 24, 2016. [Photo/China News Service]


Signboard of the newly named Sansha Yongle Blue Hole in Xisha Islands, July 24, 2016. [Photo/China News Service]


Researchers investigate the newly named Sansha Yongle Blue Hole in Xisha Islands, July 24, 2016. [Photo/China News Service]


Researchers investigate the newly named Sansha Yongle Blue Hole in Xisha Islands, July 24, 2016. [Photo/China News Service]

it will be just a matter of time until somebody accusing China destryoing the coral reef by putting the "signboard"