In what is becoming an intensely contentious situation, China is ramping up its naval ambitions amid fierce criticism from Washington. As we reportedon Monday, the Beijing-backed Global Times has suggested that a war with the US may be in the cards if China isn’t left alone to complete its “construction work” in the contested Spratly archipelago.
What Beijing calls “construction work”, Washington calls an unacceptable attempt to “redraw maritime boundaries” via the building of “sandcastles”, a reference to China’s land reclamation efforts atop the Fiery Cross Reef. Because Beijing claims most of the South China Sea, it says the construction of ports, cement plants, and airstrips atop the artificial islands its dredgers have built is no different in principle than the construction of roads on the mainland, a contention which the US and its regional allies view as absurd.
If there were any remaining questions about China’s maritime resolve, they were answered unequivocally on Tuesday with the release of the country’s 2015 defense white paper which indicates that Beijing is set to increase its “open seas protection” after countries with “ulterior motives” have busied themselves “meddling in South China Sea affairs.” Beijing also indicates that its air force will shift from a purely defensive strategy to an offensive stance, a nod to what we have described as the establishment of an effective no-fly zone over the Spratlys. Finally, China accuses Japan of "dodging" post-war norms by "overhauling its military." Here’s more from the report:
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