China 'building runway in disputed South China Sea island'

...and so it slowly continues....

Satellite images show China is making progress on building an airstrip on a reef in disputed territory in the South China Sea, a report says.

The images, published by IHS Jane's Defence Weekly, show construction work on reclaimed land on Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands.

The landmass could accommodate a runway about 3,000m long, the report said.

China's land reclamation work in the area has raised concern around the Asia-Pacific region.

China claims almost the whole of the South China Sea, resulting in overlapping claims with several other Asian nations including Vietnam and the Philippines.

They accuse China of illegally reclaiming land in contested areas to create artificial islands with facilities that could potentially be for military use.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32331964

And so it continues. Slowly but surely drawing to its inevitable outcome.

Slowly slowly catchy monkey

We had a lot of sometimes heated discussion, on here a couple of years back.

It seems to be largely down to more when than if the Chinese complete their annexing of the whole of the South China Sea. The other point has been raised as to whether the Americans would intervene.

I have always thought of the region as a tinderbox waiting to explode but maybe, with the price of oil dropping to 60 dollars a barrel there will no longer be quite the pressing incentive for the Chinese to go for the high hanging fruit in their neighbours garden.

Inevitable at some point that the price of oil will change so I don't see it changing Chinas attitude within the region. They will press on unless somebody intervenes on those countries behalf. Maybe a "Japican" coalition will stem the tide at some point in the future.

Yes. The Japanese are affected too. Indeed.

I have never thought that this has anything to do with oil. It is simply Chinese nationalism, out of its box.

The Philippines will be claimed because in the Ming dynasty the Datus of Luzon and the Visayas paid tribute to the Emperor.

I dont know what China is playing at (The Philippines military chief has called on China to stop its work on reclaiming land in disputed territory in the South China Sea)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-32377198