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

Blackstone said:

Yes, but Vietnam didn't enlarge the land/reef features, it only placed buildings on them. Big difference.

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Not true, in fact, a link you provided earlier states Vietnam has been substantially altering Southwest Cay such as adding a harbor. Just because they aren't doing massive land reclamation doesn't mean they didn't enlarge their holdings.




It is important to note that China is not alone in conducting land reclamation of the South China Sea islands it controls. Since capturing Southwest Cay from the Philippines in 1975, Vietnam has substantially altered the island, adding a harbour and other land features in the past 10 years. Taiwan, which controls Itu Aba (Taiping) island, has built an airstrip and is currently upgrading its naval facilities. The Philippines has also announced plans to upgrade an airport and pier on Thitu (Pagasa) island, although resources remain a major issue for Manila.

joshuatree said:

Not true, in fact, a link you provided earlier states Vietnam has been substantially altering Southwest Cay such as adding a harbor. Just because they aren't doing massive land reclamation doesn't mean they didn't enlarge their holdings.

Vietnam has substantially altered the island, adding a harbour and other land features in the past 10 years. Taiwan, which controls Itu Aba (Taiping) island, has built an airstrip and is currently upgrading its naval facilities. The Philippines has also announced plans to upgrade an airport and pier on Thitu (Pagasa) island, although resources remain a major issue for Manila.[/B]

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Adding a harbor, or adding an air strip, or building buildings is a far cry from significant reclamation efforts.

When a country takes a reef or shoal...and, in essence, turns it into an island, that is far different.

China is capable of doing this...and is doing it...on a huge scale if she wants to. It is a non-combative way for her to establish her holdings, and significantly grow them over time. The smaller nations cannot hope to keep pace with her.

Equating adding buildings, an airfield, or even dredging our a harbor with these types of efforts is comparing absolute apples and oranges.

Over the long haul, if China continues to do this...without a massive effort to do the same by these other nations...which would require help from someone like the US, or Australia, or Japan...in the long run China will establish de facto control over larger and larger areas of the South China Sea...and more importantly...the real reason for doing so, the resources beneath it.

I believe that is her aim and she is going about it very logically and methodically..

Geographer said:

Thanks for the photo update, A.Man. Do you know when it was taken? There are big developments on Woody Island. They are extending the runway and merging the two older harbors and reclaiming more land along the runway. They are probably use the coral and rock dredged from the old harbors for the new land. There's also a lot of construction along the northern edge of the island, including what looks like a reservoir. Another reservoir appears on the western edge of the island near the south of the runway.

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Found a clip that covers the desalination facility on the island. At 1:25, it appears be the holding tank and it doesn't seem near the edge of the water like the holding areas seen from the overhead photo.

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Another clip that shows more daily life on the island. Interesting to note a plan for a second dedicated ship for logistics.

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Now US proposes construction freeze in South China Sea because of how fast China can out build all others countries in the SCS. And the US is not taken sides, but here is $156 million in assistance for Southeast Asian nations just for build their maritime capabilities to challenge China, don't worry, we got your back. *wink*Wink*

JayBird said:

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Now US proposes construction freeze in South China Sea because of how fast China can out build all others countries in the SCS. And the US is not taken sides, but here is $156 million in assistance for Southeast Asian nations just for build their maritime capabilities to challenge China, don't worry, we got your back. *wink*Wink*

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America is dancing fine lines between assuring her SCS friends and allies against rising Chinese power, not provoking China needlessly, and maintaining her political and military primacy in Asia, and as uneven as things look, it's highly doubtful any other nation could do better. But yeah, US proposal to freeze SCS construction wouldn't go down well in Beijing.

JayBird said:

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Now US proposes construction freeze in South China Sea because of how fast China can out build all others countries in the SCS. And the US is not taken sides, but here is $156 million in assistance for Southeast Asian nations just for build their maritime capabilities to challenge China, don't worry, we got your back. *wink*Wink*

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well it's a bit too late for that call now! once china gave the green light it won't stop just because the US is calling for a construction freeze. Taiwan media quoting Russian military experts say those mammoth island building projects china is doing in the SCS should cost approx US$5 billion each (that's contruction plus all facilities and equipment) and they are building 5 so that would be approx US$25 billion cost. that's a lot of money but worth every dime, that shows just how committed china is. as for the United States I think china shouldn't even respond to their statements, for now china's motto in the SCS should be 'more action, less talk' because talk is cheap it's action that counts.

This Thread is about "PLAN South Sea Fleet and Bases.

It is NOT about Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, etc. and their bases. It is NOT about US strategy and so-called "dirty dealings" or US support of "intervention war the US instigate."

All of those comments are off topic and are being deleted.

STAY ON TOPIC. DO NOT POST speculation, accusations, and other political/ideological/nationalistic chest thumping type comments, or posts about other nation's in the South China Sea on this thread. Post Vietnam, Malaysian, Taiwan, etc. issues on the thread that contains their military activites. Any more of this will lead to warnings, and then discipline.

PLAN South Sea Fleet and Bases!

Meanwhile in the Paracel Islands...

China is dredging navigation channels in a disputed area of the South China Sea in a move analysts say shows Beijing's increasingly assertive stance over its claims to sovereignty in the region.

Xinhua reported yesterday that up to 1.7km of channels had been dredged around Drummond Island, known as Jinqing in Chinese.

The island, which is about 0.21 sq km, is one of the disputed Paracel Islands, which China calls the Xisha Islands, which are also claimed by Vietnam, which calls them the Hoang Sa Islands.

Piers for tourist boats and berths for rubbish collection ships and supply vessels would be built in the area in the future, the report said.

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on 24 July 2014

Drummond Island appears to be uninhabited in its 2005 Google Earth photo. Recent imagery of all the Paracel and Spratly Islands is sorely lacking except for Woody island. I think we're all desperate for some new aerial photos of these important islands!



The island is part of a large submerged reef. Part of that reef forms an L-shape 13 kilometers long. China is probably dredging two channels: a short one to give big boats direct access to the island, and a longer one cutting through the entire reef to shorten the certain intra-Paracel Island routes.

Geographer said:

Meanwhile in the Paracel Islands...

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on 24 July 2014

Drummond Island appears to be uninhabited in its 2005 Google Earth photo. Recent imagery of all the Paracel and Spratly Islands is sorely lacking except for Woody island. I think we're all desperate for some new aerial photos of these important islands!

The island is part of a large submerged reef. Part of that reef forms an L-shape 13 kilometers long. China is probably dredging two channels: a short one to give big boats direct access to the island, and a longer one cutting through the entire reef to shorten the certain intra-Paracel Island routes.

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The link only indicates a total of 1.7 km of dredging done. So I doubt there is a channel that cuts through the entire length of the submerged reef. Perhaps a channel that cuts across the reef so vessels don't have to sail around the entire reef to get from one side to the other.

Wonder where the dredged material is going. Staying locally at Drummond or transported back to Woody where there is ongoing land reclamation between the runway and Rocky Island?

That's what I meant, joshuatree, that the channel cuts across one edge/side of the reef.

The Paracel Islands has many small and undeveloped islands. None are as big as Woody Island but reclamation could enlarge them to be very large islands capable of supporting a runway and harbor. There's a lot of potential development in those islands with fewer of the political problems in the Spratly Islands. When China reclaims land in the Spratlys, the world calls China expansionist. But nobody except Vietnam care if China reclaims land in the Paracels.