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Scientists propose tunnels for invisible island expansion in the South China Sea
- Peer-reviewed paper recommends tunnelling under three artificial islands in the disputed Spratly chain to ease crowding
- The researchers from China’s Ocean University say they have overcome the challenges of excavating into coral sand with new method
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Stephen Chenin Beijing
An overcrowding problem on China’s artificial islands in the South China Sea could be solved with tunnels, according to a Chinese ocean engineering project team that says it has developed an excavation method to overcome the limitations of the soft coral sand.
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After a rapid expansion of its presence in the contested Spratly reef chain that began about a decade ago, China has eased back on construction in recent years in a bid to soothe the nerves of neighbouring countries.
The artificial islands hold significant military and economic value for China, with the three largest – Meiji, also known as Mischief, Yongshu or Fiery Cross, and Zhubi, also called Subi – creating a triangular defence position against the US bases in the Philippines.
But China’s growing economic and military strength is outpacing facilities on the islands, which are feeling the pinch of overcrowding, according to the Ocean University of China research team, led by Chen Xuguang.
“As the functions required of the islands or reefs increase, more personnel are stationed on them and the living facilities on the islands are facing shortages,” the researchers said in a peer-reviewed paper published in April by the university’s journal.
China has turned seven reefs in the Spratlys into artificial islands as part of its expansion strategy, using a unique process that extracts coral from the reef’s core which is then pulverised and piled up to create a ring of artificial land, metres above sea level.
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