China’s Great Wall of Sand

What’s the big deal in the South China Sea?

China’s claim to the South China Sea overlaps with claims from other countries in the region. It also could limit the movement of $5.3 trillion of goods per year. To strengthen their claim, they have been building a Great Wall of Sand.

Who claims territorial rights? Business Insider published a map that shows the area claimed by China (inside the red dashed line) and the overlapping claims from neighboring countries:

But why is this important? Another Business Insider article shows the amount of LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) that passes through the sea:

If that isn’t enough, the area has gas and oil reserves:

To bolster their claim, China has built islands out of sand (dubbed the Great Wall of Sand). Not only that, but they have constructed military airbases on these new islands. Once again, Business Insider published a photograph of one of these islands that was formerly a simple sand bar:

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