The Chinese government continues to adhere to the dogma of “do what it won’t say.” After making verbal promises to other nations in South East Asia to refrain from militarizing commercial ventures on the groups of small islands and cays that dot the South China Sea, there is now visual evidence that Beijing went back on its words.
Stunning satellite photos obtained by the BBC show clear signs of military developments in Spratly Islands, situated between Vietnam and The Philippines. The islets are known for bountiful seafood harvesting grounds and potential natural gas sources and have long been claimed by a number of nations, but China has taken the obvious initial step in settling any further dispute with military force.
China which exists as a tedious collaboration between the government, the communist party and the military, has endured feverish exponential growth in all industries over the last two decades and faces the reality of a rapidly shrinking population due to policies set in the latter part of the 20th century on societal engineering and the near eradication of female infants. In attempting to solve its population crises, the various components of the nation have been prone to acts of desperation. In the late 1990’s due to failing budgets and a daunting infrastructure, the military arm of the nation, the Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) in an attempt to prompt funding, founded phony companies to conduct business on an international scale. Later, the PLA was accused of attempting to hack into corporations and clone technology. Now, it seems that the military is up to its own tricks in flexing its commercial muscle in raising capital.
Read the full BBC article here.