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<ul class="summary-list"><li>In March, <keyword id="11906679" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="vietnam" source="Orion">Vietnam</keyword>'s government commemorated a deadly 1988 clash with <keyword id="11892748" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="china" source="Orion">China</keyword> in the <keyword id="12063094" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="south-china-sea" source="Orion">South China Sea</keyword>.</li><li>The ceremony was a rare one, as Hanoi has long avoided public discussion the battle with its larger neighbor.</li></ul><p>In March, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh <a href="https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/philippine/battle-anniversary-03142022161026.html" target="_top">paid homage</a> to several dozen Vietnamese sailors and marines who were killed in a <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2018/03/learning-from-the-battle-of-the-spratly-islands/" target="_top">battle with Chinese naval forces</a> at <keyword id="14020847" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="johnson-south-reef" source="Orion">Johnson South Reef</keyword> in 1988.</p><p>In <a href="https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/vietnam-pm-pays-tribute-to-soldiers-who-died-defending-spratly-reefs-4438040.html" target="_top">a ceremony</a> at a memorial to the battle in Khanh Hoa province, Chinh laid a wreath, burned incense, and wrote a tribute to those killed in the fighting. The ceremony was accompanied by a front-page editorial in Nhân Dân, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Vietnam.</p><p>The actions may seem unremarkable, but they were actually unprecedented.</p><p>Vietnam has long avoided officially discussing or commemorating the battle, which was a stinging defeat and remains a source of anti-Chinese sentiment. In previous years, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/vietnamese-activists-remember-1988-spratly-islands-clash-with-china/a-19114754" target="_top">citizen-organized</a> memorial events and demonstrations marking the battle have even been <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/vietnamese-police-harass-detain-citizens-at-ceremony-observing-south-china-sea-skirmish-03102017151625.html" target="_top">suppressed</a> by Vietnamese authorities.</p><p>The official reticence stems largely from a desire to keep that anti-Chinese sentiment from growing and to avoid antagonizing Beijing, which is Vietnam's largest trading partner.</p><p>But the high-profile commemoration this year, along with Vietnam's recent actions in the South China Sea and its own military investment plans, may be a message from Hanoi to its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-military-is-improving-but-us-has-more-combat-experience-2020-7" target="_top">larger, better-armed neighbor</a>.</p><h2>A complicated history and long-standing dispute</h2><div type="image" title="Chinese outpost in Spratly Islands South China Sea" height="1382" width="1842" msid="91777449" hostid="261"></div><p>Johnson South Reef is part of the <keyword id="14020848" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="spratly-islands" source="Orion">Spratly Islands</keyword>, a group of over 100 islands, rocks, reefs, and other features in the South China Sea about 500 miles west of Vietnam's southern coast.</p><p>With a total area of about 7.2 square kilometers, Johnson South Reef only has a few stretches that are naturally above water for a few hours a day during low tide. Johnson South Reef and several other features make up an area known as Union Banks, which forms the southwestern part of the Spratly Islands.</p><p>The Spratly Islands, like other islands in the South China Sea, have long been the subject of intense territorial disputes.</p><p>Beijing has made sweeping claims over the region that have been challenged by its neighbors, many of which have their own claims. An <a href="https://www.cfr.org/councilofcouncils/global-memos/hague-tribunals-south-china-sea-ruling-empty-provocation-or-slow-burning-influence" target="_top">international tribunal</a> has also ruled that Beijing's claims to rights within what it calls "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-nine-dash-line-at-the-heart-of-the-south-china-sea-conflict-2016-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the nine-dash line</a>" were without legal basis.</p><div type="image" title="anti-China protest Hanoi Vietnam" height="1529" width="2000" msid="91777451" hostid="261"></div><p>China and Vietnam's history make their South China Sea disputes unique. As a fellow single-party communist state, China was Vietnam's biggest supporter as it fought France, South Vietnam, and the US — but historical divisions kept Beijing and Hanoi from forming an ironclad alliance.</p><p>In 1974, China <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2014/01/lessons-from-the-battle-of-the-paracel-islands/" target="_top">attacked and seized</a> the all of the Paracel Islands from South Vietnam in a <a href="https://www.historynet.com/battle-paracel-islands/" target="_top">days-long naval battle</a> that killed or wounded about 100 South Vietnamese soldiers, sank 1 corvette, and damaged three frigates.</p><p>Despite being at war with the South, Hanoi protested Beijing's actions because it had its own claims on the Paracels but ultimately did nothing because it faced more pressing matters on the mainland.</p><p>Sino-Vietnamese relations didn't get much better after Hanoi defeated South Vietnam in 1975. In 1979, the two countries <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-china-war-with-vietnam-means-for-its-next-war-2021-3" target="_top">fought an intense border war</a> that lasted less than a month but caused large casualties and intermittent clashes in the area until 1991.</p><h2>Johnson South Reef</h2><div type="image" title="Johnson South Reef Union Banks Spratly Islands South China Sea" height="1485" width="1980" msid="91777452" hostid="261"></div><p>Following the 1979 war, tensions between China and Vietnam in the South China Sea increased.</p><p>By the late 1980s, China began to assert its claims to the Spratly Islands more aggressively, and in 1988 it began deploying soldiers and maritime militia on some of the islands, such as Fiery Cross Reef.</p><p>Vietnam vigorously protested and began deployments of its own, a number of which were to the islands and reefs of Union Banks.</p><p>Between March 11 and March 13, 1988, two armed Vietnam People's Navy transport ships and a landing ship were sent with some 100 soldiers and building materials to make outposts on Johnson South Reef, Collins Reef, and Lansdowne Reef.</p><p>The Chinese had deployed to nearby Hughes Reef, which was under their control. By March 14, three Chinese frigates were in the area, monitoring the Vietnamese.</p><div type="image" title="Johnson South Reef Union Banks Spratly Islands South China Sea" height="1361" width="1815" msid="91777454" hostid="261"></div><p>It remains unclear how battle erupted on the morning of March 14.</p><p>The Vietnamese claim that their landing parties, who had placed multiple flags on the then-submerged Johnson South Reef, were confronted by Chinese soldiers who demanded that they leave. After an attempt to dislodge them failed, the Chinese frigates opened fire with 37mm anti-aircraft and 100mm naval guns.</p><p>The Chinese claim that the Vietnamese on the reef and on one of the transport ships fired on them first.</p><p>Regardless of how it started, the battle was a total defeat for the Vietnamese. Unable to hide or move on the submerged reef, 62 Vietnamese sailors and naval infantry were mowed down in a matter of minutes. The Chinese frigates then turned to the VPN ships and sunk the transports, killing two more Vietnamese sailors.</p><p>The Vietnamese landing ship was damaged and its crew beached it on Collins Reef, where it was destroyed. By the end of the day, 64 Vietnamese were killed, nine were captured, three ships were sunk or destroyed, and Johnson South Reef was under Chinese control.</p><h2>Preparing for the future</h2><div type="image" title="Soldiers of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy patrol near a sign in the Spratly Islands, known in China as the Nansha Islands, February 9, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer " height="533" width="800" msid="91777456" hostid="261"></div><p>Vietnam's official commemoration of the battle at Johnson South Reef this year <a href="https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/philippine/battle-anniversary-03142022161026.html" target="_top">was seen as</a> an assertion of sovereignty and as a reminder of how Hanoi had defied its larger neighbor in the past — a message made necessary by Russia's attack on Ukraine.</p><p>In the years since the battle, China has worked to turn the reefs and islands that it controls in the South China Sea <a href="https://amti.csis.org/chinas-new-spratly-island-defenses/" target="_top">into small fortresses</a>. Through land reclamation, China has expanded existing features and built artificial islands to which it has deployed weapons and troops.</p><p>Today, Johnson South Reef <a href="https://amti.csis.org/johnson-reef/" target="_top">has</a> a 27-acre artificial island with a port, helipad, a radar station, and close-in weapon systems for air and missile defense.</p><div type="image" title="Vietnam navy Kilo class submarine" height="1347" width="2000" msid="91777457" hostid="261"></div><p>Vietnam still claims all of the Spratlys, and it has tried <a href="https://amti.csis.org/vietnam-shores-up-its-spratly-defenses/" target="_top">to bolster the defenses</a> on the islands still under its control.</p><p>Hanoi has also been <a href="https://amti.csis.org/tracking-vietnams-force-build-south-china-sea/" target="_top">modernizing its military</a>, including by <a href="https://e.vnexpress.net/interactive/2017/vietnams-new-found-submarine-power-and-where-it-came-from" target="_top">acquiring</a> six Kilo-class submarines and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-vietnam-military-idAFKBN0NL0B220150430" target="_top">Kalibr land-attack cruise missiles</a> from Russia.</p><p>Vietnam has also improved its relations with its neighbors in recent years, likely with the goal of countering China. Hanoi has joined naval exercises with <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/india-vietnam-naval-exercise-south-china-sea-1842437-2021-08-18" target="_top">India</a> and <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/1913923/japans-maritime-force-conducts-joint-drills-vietnams-navy-south" target="_top">Japan</a>, <a href="https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/indonesian/navy-visit-09202021155539.html" target="_top">hosted</a> Australian navy ships, and <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/05/09/united-states-vietnam-relations-quiet-victory-trade-war-legacies/" target="_top">improved ties</a> with its old enemy, the US.</p><p>Though China and Vietnam have close economic ties, their tensions have never <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2022/05/vietnam-protests-chinas-imposition-of-annual-south-china-sea-fishing-ban/" target="_top">truly faded</a>. As Beijing <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-pentagon-maps-show-the-chinese-military-growing-reach-2022-3" target="_top">continues to bolster its military and grow its reach</a>, Vietnam is looking to make sure it can defend its interests and avoid a repeat of the events in 1988.</p>

Vietnam's rare commemoration of a deadly South China Sea battle is a quiet but direct message to Beijing

<ul class="summary-list"><li>China has turned reefs and islands in the South China Sea into full-fledged military bases.</li><li>Photos taken in October show those bases in great detail, revealing Beijing's forces and facilities.</li></ul><p>Want to see what China's island bases in the South China Sea look like? Take a look at some of the startling images taken by Getty Images photographer Ezra Acayan in October.</p><p>They show airfields, radar installations, and military aircraft and warships stationed in the Spratly Islands, which are about 400 miles from the Chinese coast. Beijing has used both natural and artificial islands to build up its military capabilities in the area.</p><p>"The function of those islands is to expand the offensive capability of the PRC beyond their continental shores," Adm. John Aquilino, head of US Indo-Pacific Command, warned in March, referring to the country's official name, the People's Republic of China.</p><p>From those bases, Chinese forces "can fly fighters, bombers plus all those offensive capabilities of missile systems," such as anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles, Aquilino told <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-china-beijing-xi-jinping-south-china-sea-d229070bc2373be1ca515390960a6e6c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Associated Press</a> at the time, calling the islands fully militarized.</p><h2>Island airbases</h2><div type="image" title="Military base on Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands South China Sea" height="1333" width="2000" msid="96529485" hostid="261" sizebytes="263884"></div><p>This photo shows an airfield on Subi Reef, which China claimed in 1988 and has built up to create an artificial island large enough to accommodate military installations.</p><p>A double runway, hangars, and multi-story administrative buildings are all clearly visible.</p><h2>Missile boats and anti-ship missiles</h2><div type="image" title="Military base on Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands South China Sea" height="1333" width="2000" msid="96529490" hostid="261" sizebytes="326666"></div><p>This photo of Mischief Reef shows Chinese <a href="https://www.militaryfactory.com/ships/detail.php?ship_id=houbei-class-type-22-missile-boat-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Type 022 Houbei-class fast attack boats</a>, which are catamarans armed with YJ-83 anti-ship missiles.</p><p>Also visible on shore is what might be covered launchers for <a href="https://cf.eip.telegraph.co.uk/illustrator-embed/content/b12cbb29399d8883f56d8edc899bae9b74547c49/1667320413360.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">land-based missiles</a>. Tom Shugart, a naval expert at the Center for a New American Security, told <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/11/01/aerial-photos-reveal-true-extent-chinas-military-build-up-great/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Telegraph</a> that garages facing the sea could house "angled cruise missile launchers."</p><h2>Gun emplacements on Cuarteron Reef</h2><div type="image" title="Military base Cuarteron Reef in the Spratly Islands South China Sea" height="1333" width="2000" msid="96529494" hostid="261" sizebytes="384638"></div><p>In 2016, observers detected <a href="https://amti.csis.org/another-piece-of-the-puzzle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gun emplacements</a> on Cuarteron Reef. One of Acayan's photos shows these weapons stations in greater detail.</p><p>You can see several tiered towers, with what analysts have identified as <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/11/01/aerial-photos-reveal-true-extent-chinas-military-build-up-great/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">76 mm naval guns</a> visible on the lower two levels. Above the guns is what could be a gun director, and above them all is a large dome likely housing some kind of radar.</p><h2>Chinese airborne radar aircraft on runway</h2><div type="image" title="Military base on Fiery Cross Reef Spratly Islands South China Sea" height="1333" width="2000" msid="96529499" hostid="261" sizebytes="401750"></div><p>This photo shows a Chinese KJ-500 airborne early warning aircraft on the runway of Fiery Cross Reef. The KJ-500 is based on the Y-9 transport, China's equivalent to the US's C-130 Hercules.</p><p>The presence of a KJ-500 shows the Fiery Cross Reef runways are long enough to handle larger aircraft, while the hangars are big enough to accommodate H-6 bombers.</p><p>The KJ-500 "plays a significant role" in China's ability to use long-range weapons, Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, head of US Pacific Air Forces, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNPo6S5uwZQ&amp;ab_channel=TheMitchellInstituteforAerospaceStudies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> this spring, adding that "some of their very long-range air-to-air missiles are aided by that KJ-500."</p><h2>Port for Chinese warships</h2><div type="image" title="Military base on Fiery Cross Reef Spratly Islands South China Sea" height="1333" width="2000" msid="96529502" hostid="261" sizebytes="262962"></div><p>This photo of Fiery Cross Reef shows the semi-enclosed waters and facilities that make the island a useful naval base.</p><p>More than 40 vessels of different types appear to be anchored near Fiery Cross, the Associated Press said in March.</p><h2>These islands have sports fields</h2><div type="image" title="Military base on Fiery Cross Reef Spratly Islands South China Sea" height="1333" width="2000" msid="96529506" hostid="261" sizebytes="355782"></div><p>What's striking about this photo of Fiery Cross Reef isn't the runway and buildings but rather the sports field, which appears to include a running track and an athletic field.</p><p>This suggests a Chinese presence that is significant enough that recreational facilities are needed to maintain troop morale.</p><p>The size of the field, which is marked and appears to have light poles, indicates that the garrison is large enough to justify such an amenity.</p><h2>China's growing reach</h2><div type="image" title="Military base at Mischief Reef in Spratly Islands South China Sea" height="1333" width="2000" msid="96529511" hostid="261" sizebytes="233292"></div><p>The Spratly Islands are strategically valuable for China. They enable Beijing to project air and naval power hundreds of miles farther than forces on the Chinese mainland can reach. The bases there also allow China to position forces closer to vital areas, such as the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-military-worried-about-chinese-activity-near-maritime-chokepoints-2022-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">chokepoints between the Indian and Pacific oceans</a>.</p><p>China has been willing to use force to maintain control of the Spratlys, which are geographically closer to Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia. In 1988, Chinese forces seized Johnson South Reef after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vietnam-marks-johnson-south-reef-battle-amid-tensions-with-china-2022-5">battling</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vietnam-marks-johnson-south-reef-battle-amid-tensions-with-china-2022-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Vietnamese ships and troops</a> over the disputed island.</p><p>The US isn't the only nation concerned by the Chinese bases. Several countries, including Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Malaysia, have made claims in the Spratlys and on other specks of land in the South China Sea. (Vietnam <a href="https://amti.csis.org/vietnams-major-spratly-expansion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accelerated</a> the expansion of its own outposts in the Spratlys in late 2022, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.)</p><p>The value of these bases should not be overstated. Their small size, flat and open terrain, and distance from mainland China leaves them vulnerable to bombardment, blockade, or invasion in time of war. Short of war, however, they are a potent reminder of China military reach into one of the world's most important waterways.</p><p><em>Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds a master's in political science. Follow him on <a href="https://www.twitter.com/@mipeck1" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fmipeck%2F&amp;amazonTrackingID=null&amp;site=bi&amp;vikingID=639a08f9aa8499417d24fa43&amp;platform=browser&amp;sc=false&amp;disabled=false&amp;sessionID=1666393597540n9zaize3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noindex noopener sponsored">LinkedIn</a>.</em></p>

Vivid new photos give you a rare look at the South China Sea islands that a top US commander says China has fully militarized

<p>A Hague-based <keyword id="6356001" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="international">international</keyword> tribunal dealt Beijing a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/no-nine-dash-line-in-the-south-china-sea-2016-7">serious blow</a> this morning by ruling that China's territorial claims throughout the South China Sea largely have no legal basis.&#xa0;</p><p>Previously, Beijing maintained that it had a legal right to lay territorial claim to&#xa0;almost the entirety of the sea through its so-called <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/map-of-china-in-the-south-china-sea-2016-6">nine-dash line</a>. The nine-dash line extended throughout the South China Sea and cut through the territorial claims of other nations in the region, including the Philippines and Vietnam.&#xa0;</p><p>The following map, from the Center for Strategic and International Studies' (CSIS) Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), explains the territorial rulings within the South China Sea - and how the ruling has fiercely undercut Beijing's claims in the region.&#xa0;</p><p><div></div></p><p>China previously claimed&#xa0;nearly the entirety of the South China Sea through the&#xa0;nine-dash line. However, the ruling of the tribunal has effectively&#xa0;invalidated that position. Additionally, the tribunal has ruled on the legal and maritime traits of the individual features throughout the South China Sea.</p><p>To the greater chagrin of China, AMTI <a href="http://amti.csis.org/arbitration-map/">notes</a>, the tribunal found that "none of the Spratlys, including the largest natural features ... are legally islands because they cannot sustain a stable human community or independent economic life.&#xa0;As such, they are entitled only to territorial seas, not EEZs or continental shelves."</p><p>"Of the seven Spratlys occupied by China, the court ruled that Johnson Reef, Cuarteron Reef, Fiery Cross Reef, and Gaven Reef are rocks, while Hughes Reef and Mischief Reef are below water at high-tide and therefore generate no maritime entitlements of their own," AMTI <a href="http://amti.csis.org/arbitration-map/">writes</a>.&#xa0;</p><p>Altogether, these rulings invalidate the nine-dash line and limit China's territorial claims within the sea, in the eyes of international law, to the much-diminished territorial seas that rocks generate - only 12 nautical miles around each rock.&#xa0;</p><p>In sum, the tribunal has negated nearly the entirety of Beijing's territorial claims to the region. However, whether or not the ruling will halt China's activities in the region remains to be seen.&#xa0;</p><p>For its part, China's Foreign Ministry has <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-south-china-sea-is-crucial-2016-7">said</a> that it "neither accepts nor recognizes" the ruling.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rimpac-worlds-largest-maritime-exercise-us-china-military-training-navy-2016-7">The US and 25 other nations are working together in the world's largest maritime exercise</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="NieGJsNDE6OaY1awiEBS2CPNc75RdYsM" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

This interactive map explains the South China Sea ruling against Beijing

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div><em style="line-height: 1.5em;">In this excerpt from "<a href="In%20this%20excerpt%20from%20" The20Russia-China20Axis:20The20New20Cold20War20And20Americas20Crisis20Of20Leadership20authors20Douglas20E.20Schoen20and20Melik20Kaylan20explain20how20rogue20regimes20align20and20use20proxies20to20undermine20the20US.2020Read20more:20http:="" www.amazon.com="" gp="" product="" ref="as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1594037566&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=thebusiinsi-20&amp;linkId=IYFIYQQGPESSMD46#ixzz3SEbZ4agD&quot;" target="_blank">Asia's Cauldron: The South China Sea And The End Of A Stable Pacific</a>," author Robert D. Kaplan, chief geopolitical analyst for Stratfor and former member of the Pentagon's <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">Defense</keyword> Policy Board, explains how the region's unique geography fosters aggression.</em><em style="line-height: 1.5em;"><br /></em></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The South China Sea functions as the throat of the Western Pacific and Indian oceans - the mass of connective economic tissue where global sea routes coalesce. </span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Here is the heart of Eurasia's navigable rimland, punctuated by the Malacca, Sunda, Lombok, and Makassar straits. </span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">More than half of the world's annual merchant fleet tonnage passes through these choke points, and a third of all maritime traffic worldwide. </span></p><p>The oil transported through the Malacca Strait from the Indian Ocean, en route to East Asia through the South China Sea, is triple the amount that passes through the Suez Canal and fifteen times the amount that transits the Panama Canal.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Roughly two thirds of South Korea's energy supplies, nearly 60 percent of Japan's and Taiwan's energy supplies, and 80 percent of China's crude oil imports come through the South China Sea.Whereas in the Persian Gulf only energy is transported, in the South China Sea you have energy, finished goods, and unfinished goods. </span></p><div><p>In addition to centrality of location, the South China Sea has proven oil reserves of seven billion barrels, and an estimated 900 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.</p><p>If Chinese calculations are correct that the South China Sea will ultimately yield 130 billion barrels of oil (and there is some serious doubt about these estimates), then the South China Sea contains more oil than any area of the globe except Saudi Arabia. Some Chinese observers have called the South China Sea "the second Persian Gulf."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">If there really is so much oil in the South China Sea, then China will have partially alleviated its "Ma- lacca dilemma" - its reliance on the narrow and vulnerable Strait of Malacca for so much of its energy needs coming from the Middle East.</span></p><p>And the China National Offshore Oil Corporation has invested $20 billion in the belief that such amounts of oil really do exist in the South China Sea. China is desperate for new energy. Chinese oil reserves account for only 1.1 percent of the world total, while it consumes over 10 percent of world oil production and over 20 percent of all the energy consumed on the planet. </p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">It is not only location and energy reserves that promise to give the South China Sea critical geostrategic importance, it is the territorial disputes surrounding these waters, home to more than two hundred small islands, rocks, and coral reefs, only about three dozen of which are permanently above water.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div></span></p></div><div title="Page 32"><p>Yet these specks of land, buffeted by typhoons, are valuable mainly because of the oil and natural gas that might lie nearby in the intricate, folded layers of rock beneath the sea. Brunei claims a southern reef of the Spratly Islands.</p><p>Malaysia claims three islands in the Spratlys. The Philippines claims eight islands in the Spratlys and significant portions of the South China Sea. Vietnam, Taiwan, and China each claims much of the South China Sea, as well as all of the Spratly and Paracel island groups.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">In the middle of 2010 there was quite a stir when China was said to have called the South China Sea a "core interest." It turns out that Chinese officials never quite said that: no matter. Chinese maps have been consistent. </span></p><div title="Page 32"><p>Beijing claims to own what it calls its "historic line": that is, the heart of the entire South China Sea in a grand loop-the "cow's tongue" as the loop is called-surrounding these island groups from China's Hainan Island south 1,200 miles to near Singapore and Malaysia.</p><p>The result is that all of these littoral states are more or less arrayed against China, and dependent upon the United States for diplomatic and military backing.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div>For example, Vietnam and Malaysia are seeking to divide all of the seabed and subsoil resources of the southern part of the South China Sea between mainland Southeast Asia and the Malaysian part of the island of Borneo: this has elicited a furious diplomatic response from China.These conflicting claims are likely to become more acute as energy consumption in developing Asian countries is expected to double by 2030, with China accounting for half of that growth. </p><div title="Page 33"><p>"Paradoxically, if the postmodern age is dominated by globalization," writes the British naval expert Geoffrey Till, then "everything that supports" globalization, such as trade routes and energy deposits, becomes fraught with competition.</p><p>And when it comes to trade routes, 90 percent of all commercial goods that travel from one continent to another do so by sea.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">This heightened maritime awareness that is a product of globalization comes at a time when a host of relatively new and independent states in Southeast Asia, which only recently have had the wherewithal to flex their muscles at sea, are making territorial claims against each other that in the days of the British Empire were never an issue, because of the supremacy of the Crown globally and its emphasis on free trade and freedom of navigation. </span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">This muscle flexing takes the form of "routinized" close encounters between warships of different nations at sea, creating an embryonic risk of armed conflict. </span></p><div title="Page 33"><p>One high-ranking official of a South China Sea littoral state was particularly blunt during an off-the-record conversation I had in 2011, saying, "The Chinese never give justifications for their claims. They have a real Middle Kingdom mentality, and are dead set against taking these disputes to court. China," this official went on, "denies us our right on our own continental shelf. But we will not be treated like Tibet or Xinjiang."</p><p>This official said that China is as tough with a country like the Philippines as it is with Vietnam, because while the latter is historically and geographically in a state of intense competition with China, the former is just a weak state that can be intimidated. "There are just too many claimants to the waters in the South China Sea.</p><p>The complexity of the issues mitigates against an overall solution, so China simply waits until it becomes stronger. Economically, all these countries will come to be dominated by China," the official continued, unless of course the Chinese economy itself unravels. Once China's underground submarine base is completed on Hainan Island, "China will be more able to do what it wants." Meanwhile, more American naval vessels are visiting the area, "so the disputes are being internationalized." Because there is no practical political or judicial solution, "we support the status quo." </p><div title="Page 34"><p>"If that fails, what is Plan B for dealing with China?" I asked.</p><p>"Plan B is the U.S. Navy-Pacific Command. But we will publicly remain neutral in any U.S.-China dispute." To make certain that I got the message, this official said: "An American military presence is needed to countervail China, but we won't vocalize that." The withdrawal of even one U.S. aircraft carrier strike group from the Western Pacific is a "game changer."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">In the interim, the South China Sea has become an armed camp, even as the scramble for reefs is mostly over. China has confiscated twelve geographical features, Taiwan one, the Vietnamese twenty- one, the Malaysians five, and the Philippines nine. In other words, facts have already been created on the ground.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Perhaps there can still be sharing arrangements for the oil and natural gas fields. But here it is unclear what, for instance, countries with contentious claims coupled with especially tense diplomatic relations like Vietnam and China will agree upon.</span></p><p>Take the Spratlys, with significant oil and natural gas deposits, which are claimed in full by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, and in part by Malaysia, the Philippines, and Brunei. China has built concrete helipads and military structures on seven reefs and shoals.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">On Mischief Reef, which China occupied under the nose of the Philippine navy in the 1990s, China has constructed a three-story building and five octagonal concrete structures, all for military use.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">On Johnson Reef, China put up a structure armed with high-powered machine guns. Taiwan occupies Itu Aba Island, on which it has constructed dozens of buildings for military use, protected by hundreds of troops and twenty coastal guns.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Vietnam occupies twenty-one islands on which it has built runways, piers, barracks, storage tanks, and gun emplacements. Malaysia and the Philippines, as stated, have five and nine sites respectively, occupied by naval detachments. </span></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Anyone who speculates that with globalization, territorial boundaries and fights for territory have lost their meaning should behold the South China Sea.</span></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><em>In this excerpt from "<a href="In%20this%20excerpt%20from%20" The20Russia-China20Axis:20The20New20Cold20War20And20Americas20Crisis20Of20Leadership20authors20Douglas20E.20Schoen20and20Melik20Kaylan20explain20how20rogue20regimes20align20and20use20proxies20to20undermine20the20US.2020Read20more:20http:="" www.amazon.com="" gp="" product="" ref="as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1594037566&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=thebusiinsi-20&amp;linkId=IYFIYQQGPESSMD46#ixzz3SEbZ4agD&quot;" target="_blank">Asia's Cauldron: The South China Sea And The End Of A Stable Pacific</a>," author Robert D. Kaplan, chief geopolitical analyst for Stratfor and former member of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board, explains how the region's unique geography fosters aggression.</em></span></span></p></div></div></div></div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-headphones-tricks-2015-2">14 things you didn't know your iPhone headphones could do</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="o2OGM3czpWcydnvhjbkDBd6feXPuExiD" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Why the South China Sea is so crucial

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>China's rapid pace of artificial island construction throughout the South China Sea is like the building of a "great wall of sand," the US's Pacific Fleet Commander said at a naval security conference in Canberra, Australia, <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-to-move-stealth-destroyers-to-pacific-region-1427784315">according to The Wall Street Journal</a>.</p><p>Admiral Harry Harris Jr said that China's unabated construction of artificial islands throughout the disputed body of water is provocative. Beijing's dredging of the islands, which all exist in either <keyword id="6356001" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="international">international</keyword> waters or contested maritime territory, is only likely to further increase tensions in a region with complex overlapping territorial claims.</p><p>"What's really drawing a lot of concern in the here and now is the unprecedented land reclamation currently being conducted by China," Harris said. "China is creating a great wall of sand with dredges and bulldozers over the course of months.</p><p>"When one looks at China's pattern of provocative actions towards smaller claimant states - the lack of clarity on its sweeping nine-dash line claim that is inconsistent with international law, and the deep asymmetry between China's capabilities and those of its smaller neighbors - it's no surprise that the scope and pace of building man-made islands raises serious questions about Chinese intentions," Harris added. </p><p>So far, China has constructed over 1.5 square miles of artificial islands on top of reefs in the South China Sea. </p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-china-to-project-power-from-artificial-islands-in-south-china-sea-2015-2">According</a> to Reuters, Beijing has completed advanced stages of construction for six different island reefs throughout the sea with construction starting on a seventh. </p><p>The islands will serve as forward operating bases for the Chinese military. Various islands are being outfitted with ports and refueling centers for ships while at least two airstrips have been built on the islands. Once construction is complete, Beijing will be able to use the bases to project their military force throughout the South China Sea. </p><p><span>"China appears to be expanding and upgrading military and civilian infrastructure - including radars, satellite communication equipment, antiaircraft and naval guns, helipads and docks - on some of the man-made islands," the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission <a href="http://origin.www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/Research/Staff%20Report_China%27s%20First%20Airstrip%20in%20the%20Spratly%20Islands%20Likely%20at%20Fiery%20Cross%20Reef_12%2018%2014.pdf">stated</a> in a staff report from December 2014.</span></p><p>The expansion of Chinese construction in the South China Sea is kicking off a series of territorial disputes with Beijing's neighbors in the south, all of whom also have competing maritime claims to the reefs and islands: </p><div><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></div><p>Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines all have military bases within the South China Sea on islands that those countries control.</p><p>Beijing's sweeping territorial claims have driven the various nations of the region closer together.  <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Vietnam and the Philippines have </span><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/29/us-philippines-vietnam-idUSKBN0L21JP20150129">recently agreed</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to increase military ties. The two countries also jointly filed a diplomatic protest against Beijing. </span></p><p>In a bid to reassure regional allies against Chinese expansionism, Rear Admiral Christopher J. Paul <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-to-move-stealth-destroyers-to-pacific-region-1427784315">announced</a> in Canberra that the US would move Zumwalt-class stealth destroyers into the Pacific. Paul also asked for Australia to deploy warships alongside the US to help ensure regional security. </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trailer-point-and-shoot-documentary-libyan-revolution-2015-2">This 26-year-old from Baltimore took a 35,000-mile road trip and ended up fighting in the Libyan revolution</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="szNGZoczpV6FOp_YiVp_j5fNW4DvFIZ8" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

US Admiral: China is building a 'great wall of sand' in the South China Sea

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>China is constructing five man-made islands in the disputed South China Sea in an apparent effort to secure its sweeping territorial claims in the region, the Los Angeles Times <a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-china-us-islands-20150128-story.html#page=1">reports</a>.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The largest island is being constructed at the Fiery Cross Reef close to the Spratly Islands, an island chain whose territory is partially claimed by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">US officials estimated that the Chinese construction at Fiery Cross Reef could accommodate an airstrip long enough for most of Beijing's military aircraft. </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Beijing is also believed to be constructing a small port on the island.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">China is also expanding man-made islands on Johnson South Reef, Johnson North Reef, Cuarteron Reef, and Gaven Reef around the Spratlys.  </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"China appears to be expanding and upgrading military and civilian infrastructure - including radars, satellite communication equipment, antiaircraft and naval guns, helipads and docks - on some of the man-made islands," the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission <a href="http://origin.www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/Research/Staff%20Report_China%27s%20First%20Airstrip%20in%20the%20Spratly%20Islands%20Likely%20at%20Fiery%20Cross%20Reef_12%2018%2014.pdf">stated</a> in a staff report from Dec. 2014.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Once the airstrip is operational, the staff report states, the Chinese military would likely use the airstrip as a launching point for aerial <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">defense</keyword> operations in support of Chinese naval vessels in the southern reaches of the South China Sea. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The airstrip's presence is only likely to further tensions and distrust in the region, which is the site of several complex and overlapping territorial claims:</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Aside from China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines already have airstrips on islands within the South China Sea.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The threat of Chinese superiority in the region has driven countries with oftentimes cold relations towards each other in an attempt to counter Beijing's growing reach - Vietnam and the Philippines have recently agreed to increase military ties in the region. </span></p>
<p class="p1">"We already have joint training and exercises with the US military every year and we are looking forward to hold exercises with the Vietnamese navy," an unnamed Philippine navy officer <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/29/us-philippines-vietnam-idUSKBN0L21JP20150129">told</a> Reuters.</p>
<p class="p1">Vietnam will be the the Philippines' third strategic partner in the region after the US and Japan. </p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The US is also looking towards Japan to play a larger role in air patrols in the South China Sea. Japanese aircraft currently conduct regular patrols in the East China Sea but the US would like Japan to expand its surveillance flights towards the Spratly Islands. </span></p>
<p class="p1">"I think that JSDF (Japan Maritime Self Defense Forces) operations in the South China Sea makes sense in the future," Admiral Robert Thomas, the top US Navy officer in Asia, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/30/us-japan-southchinasea-idUSKBN0L20HV20150130">told</a> Reuters.</p>
<p>China and Japan are currently in the midst of their own maritime disputes over the Senkaku Islands. China has also begun the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-show-china-military-buildup-near-disputed-senkaku-islands-2015-1">construction</a> of an island military base close to the disputed territory. </p>

China is building a string of artificial islands to fortify its position in the disputed South China Sea

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.navair.navy.mil/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.PhotoGalleryDetail&amp;key=8526D78D-7068-4005-8592-8365E1C84175">NAVAIR US Navy</a></span></p><p class="caption">US Navy P-8A Poseidon</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>China sent six warning to a US Navy plane operating in the South China Sea Friday, ordering the American crew to "leave immediately and keep out."</strong></li><li><strong>The US Navy aircraft stayed the course, insisting that it was within its legal rights.</strong></li><li><strong>The incident follows a report from the Philippine government revealing that China has been sending out threatening radio queries to foreign ships and planes at an increased frequency.</strong></li><li><strong>The US Navys' operations in the South China Sea have not been affected.</strong></li></ul><p>Chinese forces deployed to the hotly-contested South China Sea ordered a US Navy reconnaissance aircraft to "leave immediately" six times Friday, but the pilot stayed the course, refusing to back down.</p><p>A US Navy P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance plane flew past China's garrisons in the Spratly Islands, giving the CNN reporters aboard the aircraft a view of Chinese militarization in the region.</p><p>Flying over Chinese strongholds on Mischief Reef, Johnson Reef, Fiery Cross Reef and Subi Reef, CNN spotted "l<span>arge radar installations, power plants and runways sturdy enough to carry large military aircraft." At one outpost, onboard sensors detected 86 vessels, including a number of Chinese Coast Guard ships, which <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/chinese-coast-guard-reponsible-majority-clashes-south-china-sea-2016-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China has been known to use to strongarm other claimant countries</a>.</span></p><p><span>Lt. Lauren Callen, who led the US Navy crew, said that it was "surprising to see airports in the middle of the ocean."</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/South-China-Sea-Watch/a9641caeaefe4283b3bd2cdfab894052/14/0">Bullit Marquez/AP</a></span></p><p class="caption">An airstrip, structures and buildings on China's man-made Subi Reef in the Spratly chain</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>The Chinese stationed in the area were not exactly kind hosts to the uninvited guests.</span></p><p><span>Warning the aircraft that it was in Chinese territory - an argument an international arbitration tribunal ruled against two years ago - the Chinese military ordered the US Navy plane to "leave immediately and keep out to avoid any misunderstanding." </span></p><p><span>A total of six warnings were issued, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/10/politics/south-china-sea-flyover-intl/index.html">according</a> to CNN, and the US Navy responded the same every time.</span></p><p><span>"I am a sovereign immune US naval aircraft conducting lawful military activities beyond the national airspace of any coastal state," the crew replied, adding, "In exercising these rights guaranteed by international law, I am operating with due regard for the rights and duties of all states.</span></p><p><span>Friday's incident comes on the heels of a report by the Philippine government revealing that China has been increasingly threatening foreign ships and planes operating in the South China Sea.</span></p><p><span>"Leave immediately," Chinese forces in the Spratlys <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-warns-foreign-ships-planes-to-steer-clear-of-its-islands-or-pay-2018-7">warned</a> a Philippine military aircraft earlier this year, <a href="https://apnews.com/c447e23e914d4a689e4f29c773efbdab">according</a> to the Associated Press. </span><span>"I am warning you again, leave immediately or you will pay the possible consequences," the Chinese voice said over the radio.</span></p><p><span>The US Navy has noticed an increase in such queries as well.</span></p><p><span>"Our ships and aircraft have observed an increase in radio queries that appear to originate from new land-based facilities in the South China Sea," Cmdr. Clay Doss, a representative for the US 7th Fleet, told the AP, adding, "These communications do not affect our operations."</span></p><p>Of greater concern for the US military are recent Chinese deployments of military equipment and weapons systems, such as jamming technology, anti-ship cruise missiles, and surface-to-air missiles. While the US has accused China of "intimidation and coercion" in the disputed waterway, Beijing argues it is the US, not China, that is causing trouble in the region.</p><p>The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has yet to comment on Friday's exchange between the Chinese military and the US Navy.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-west-point-united-states-military-academy-army-cadets-reception-day-2018-7">INSIDE WEST POINT: What it's really like for new Army cadets on their first day</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

You Searched For "johnson south reef" and got 7 results

Vietnam's rare commemoration of a deadly South China Sea battle is a quiet but direct message to Beijing

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Why the South China Sea is so crucial

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US Admiral: China is building a 'great wall of sand' in the South China Sea

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China is building a string of artificial islands to fortify its position in the disputed South China Sea

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'Keep out!' China sends six warnings to a US Navy plane, but the US didn't back down

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