Читать книгу An Introduction to Intercultural Communication - Fred E. Jandt - Страница 134

China has embarked on a massive campaign of artificial island-building to assert its claims to disputed reefs and islets in the South China Sea. By dredging sand from the ocean bed, China now has reclaimed more than 1,295 hectares (3,200 acres) of land and built at least one military installation on the artificial islands. A case in the Permanent Court of Arbitration brought by the Philippines held that China’s claims to the South China Sea had no legal basis. While the United States is not one of the six territorial claimants to the sea, it urged China to accept the ruling and has taken the position that China’s actions threaten freedom of navigation in international waters. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi has said that Vietnam and the Philippines started construction work 20 or 30 years ago on islands in the South China Sea they had illegally occupied. The U.S. Navy has flown and sailed close to the islands.