International media condemn China's territorial ambitions.

In response to China's massive infrastructure development on disputed islands and reefs in the South China Sea, aimed at realizing its ambition to monopolize one of the world's most important shipping lanes, the American and international press have published numerous articles exposing Beijing's schemes and intentions.

China is carrying out massive illegal construction on Gac Ma Island. Source: bbcimg.co.uk

Under the headline "Vietnam protests China's construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea," Down Jones Newswires and iMarket Report on March 3 condemned China's violation of international law.

Citing a statement by Deputy Spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang, the article emphasizes that China's illegal construction and expansion on coral islands and the alteration of the area of ​​islands and reefs in the Spratly Islands constitute a serious violation of Vietnam's sovereignty.

The article states that Vietnam issued the aforementioned response after recent satellite images showed that China's construction on the disputed islands in the South China Sea had expanded significantly, increasing concerns among neighboring countries.

According to the article, after carefully studying satellite images, experts concluded that the images provided clear evidence that China had built an artificial island covering nearly 75,000 square meters, including two piers, a cement factory, and a helicopter landing pad at Hughes Reef.

Satellite imagery also shows that China has made significant progress in building similar infrastructure on two other islands, Johnson South Reef and Gaven Reef, where Beijing claims overlapping sovereignty with neighboring countries.

Previously, in an article titled "China Massively Expands Construction on Disputed Islands in the South China Sea," published by Jeremy Page from Beijing and Julian E. Barnes from Washington, the Wall Street Journal asserted that China's massive construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea to create a chain of fortresses capable of controlling air and sea routes demonstrates Beijing's unwavering territorial ambitions.

According to the WSJ, the speed and scale of island building in the South China Sea shows that Beijing, despite recently restraining its rhetoric and avoiding confrontations at sea and in the air, has not abandoned its ambition to project power in the region.

In response to these actions, US officials have repeatedly urged China to cease land reclamation and island building, but to no avail. During a visit to Beijing in early February 2015, Daniel Russel, US Assistant Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific Affairs, raised US concerns about these issues.

According to Mr. Russel, China's actions have destabilized and conflicted with ASEAN members, given that the country has signed a non-binding agreement with ASEAN, committing to avoid provocative activities in the South China Sea, such as settling people on previously abandoned reefs and islands.

According to experts, China's facilities in the Spratly Islands are clearly for military purposes, while some of its recent actions in asserting territorial sovereignty have been carried out by its coast guard and fisheries patrol forces.

James Hardy, Asia-Pacific editor of IHS Janes's Defence Weekly, a military magazine, observed that from having only a few small concrete structures, China now possesses fully equipped islands with helipads, runways, ports, and facilities to support large troop deployments.

According to him, such infrastructure allows China to more aggressively pursue its "nine-dash line" claim. China's recent actions are a meticulously planned campaign to create a chain of fortresses capable of controlling air and sea routes along the center of the Spratly Islands.

Ian Storey, a South China Sea expert at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, argues that these facilities could potentially be used to enforce China's territorial claims and jurisdiction, and to increase pressure on the warships and coast guard vessels of other claimant countries.

According to Ian Storey, this shows that although Beijing has recently stated it is seeking to de-escalate tensions in the South China Sea, its policy regarding the so-called "nine-dash line" remains fundamentally unchanged.

However, according to the WSJ's conclusion, China's actions will not increase the legitimacy of its sovereignty claims in the South China Sea under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which states: Only land formed naturally allows a nation to claim maritime rights in adjacent waters!

Not only in the US, but also in European media (Germany's Der Spiegel, the new Zurich newspaper, Switzerland's Federal newspaper, etc.), a series of articles have been published denouncing China's massive construction of infrastructure on islands and reefs it has seized and disputed in the South China Sea, aiming to equate this with "de facto ownership" of the islands it is creating.

These reports also concluded that international law only recognizes natural landmasses, not artificial islands.

According to Vietnam+