By Katie Hunt and Vivian Kam, CNN
Updated 12:09 AM ET, Wed June 17, 2015
Hong Kong (CNN)China’s foreign ministry says it will soon complete controversial land reclamation on some islands and reefs in disputed waters in the South China Sea.
However, the ministry also said in a statement released Tuesday that it planned to build facilities on the artificial islands it has created and these would perform several tasks — including military defense.
“According to the planned operation, China is about to complete the land reclamation operation at some of the Nansha islands where China has been stationed,” the statement said. It did not give a time frame.
China has placed artillery pieces on one of its manufactured islands, the U.S. says, and China has announced plans for two lighthouses.
Alarm
Last year, China stepped up land reclamation on several reefs in contested waters close to the Spratly Islands (called Nansha by China), alarming its Asian neighbors.
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The United States says that China has reclaimed some 2,000 acres — 1,500 football fields — in the past 18 months and has called for an “immediate and lasting” halt to the island building.
In May, a U.S. surveillance plane carrying a CNN crew flew over some of China’s artificial islands, triggered eight warnings from the Chinese navy to back off.
The South China Sea is the subject of numerous rival — often messy — territorial claims, with China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam disputing sovereignty of several island chains and nearby waters.
The areas in dispute include fertile fishing grounds and potentially rich reserves of undersea natural resources.
China reiterated that its construction did not target any other countries or affect freedom of navigation by sea or air.
BEHIND THE SCENES: China’s island buildup
CNN’s Chieu Luu contributed to this report
Đăng bởi Trần Đình Hoành
I am an attorney in the Washington DC area, with a Doctor of Law in the US, attended the master program at the National School of Administration of Việt Nam, and graduated from Sài Gòn University Law School. I aso studied philosophy at the School of Letters in Sài Gòn.
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I have worked as an anti-trust attorney for Federal Trade Commission and a litigator for a fortune-100 telecom company in Washington DC.
I have taught law courses for legal professionals in Việt Nam and still counsel VN government agencies on legal matters.
I have founded and managed businesses for me and my family, both law and non-law.
I have published many articles on national newspapers and radio stations in Việt Nam.
In 1989 I was one of the founding members of US-VN Trade Council, working to re-establish US-VN relationship.
Since the early 90's, I have established and managed VNFORUM and VNBIZ forum on VN-related matters; these forums are the subject of a PhD thesis by Dr. Caroline Valverde at UC-Berkeley and her book Transnationalizing Viet Nam.
I translate poetry and my translation of "A Request at Đồng Lộc Cemetery" is now engraved on a stone memorial at Đồng Lộc National Shrine in VN.
I study and teach the Bible and Buddhism. In 2009 I founded and still manage dotchuoinon.com on positive thinking and two other blogs on Buddhism.
In 2015 a group of friends and I founded website CVD - Conversations on Vietnam Development (cvdvn.net).
I study the art of leadership with many friends who are religious, business and government leaders from many countries.
I have written these books, published by Phu Nu Publishing House in Hanoi:
"Positive Thinking to Change Your Life", in Vietnamese (TƯ DUY TÍCH CỰC Thay Đổi Cuộc Sống) (Oct. 2011)
"10 Core Values for Success" (10 Giá trị cốt lõi của thành công) (Dec. 2013)
"Live a Life Worth Living" (Sống Một Cuộc Đời Đáng Sống) (Oct. 2023)
I practice Jiu Jitsu and Tai Chi for health, and play guitar as a hobby, usually accompanying my wife Trần Lê Túy Phượng, aka singer Linh Phượng.
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