Amidst confrontations over islands in the South China Sea, the Philippines signed a defense agreement with France. This comes on the heels of China's militarization of islands in the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This is the latest in China’s global campaign to dominate the seas. The US should partner with nations threatened by China to counter Beijing’s maritime power in East Asia and beyond.
EEZs are internationally recognized as the ocean territory of a country extending 200 nautical miles from the shores of that country. Yet for decades, China has been building military installations on islands in the EEZs of countries in the South China Sea. This would be bad enough on its own without the aggravating circumstance that many of these islands are man-made, built and expanded through land reclamation. Thousands of acres of land have been reclaimed in the middle of the ocean, large enough for airfields.
Land reclamation is a process where new land is created in the middle of the ocean, often by moving sand and other fillers. Countries around the world have done it to create more living space in coastal areas. Dubai has famously used land reclamation for some of its iconic hotels and housing projects. What is new is the way China is using it to intimidate its neighbors.
Understandably, the countries whose territory is being violated are not happy about this. The Philippines’ feud with China over these islands goes back more than a decade. When an international court ruled that China’s land reclamation projects were a violation of international law. China ignored the ruling, and the military buildup continues, thus forcing the Philippines to take matters into its own hands, resulting in confrontations between Filipino and Chinese naval vessels.
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