Grab what you can while you can: The new reality in the South China Sea

Article excerpt

Competing nations in the South China Sea are now racing to build artificial islands and expand their territorial holdings, mirroring tactics long employed by China to reinforce maritime claims. After years of watching Beijing dredge sand and construct military installations on disputed reefs, Vietnam, the Philippines, and other regional players have begun their own land-reclamation projects to stake stronger positions in one of the world's most contested waterways. The shift reflects a strategic calculus: if China can engineer geographic facts on the water, so can everyone else. The result is an escalating arms race for physical presence in waters where trillions of dollars in global trade pass annually and overlapping claims remain unresolved.