Südchinesisches Meer: Während sich die USA zurückziehen, rückt China vor
Künstliche Inseln, Waffentests, neue Partnerschaften: China baut seine Militärpräsenz in Südostasien aus. Länder, die sich bislang auf die USA als Schutzmacht verließen, sind beunruhigt.
In the South China Sea, China's territorial expansion is growing as the United States withdraws, according to recent satellite imagery provided to the Handelsblatt and other media outlets.
Once in December, Antelope Reef was a nearly uninhabitable place, visible only at low tide from a distance of hundreds of kilometers from the Chinese and Vietnamese mainland. The atoll, located hundreds of kilometers away from both countries, was barely a sandbank capable of supporting a few buildings.
However, since then, the reef has transformed into one of the largest islands in the disputed part of the South China Sea. Chinese dredging vessels have been adding millions of tons of sand to the island over the past months, with the work now apparently completed, as evidenced by the satellite images. The dredging operations have since been halted.
China's territorial expansion is facilitated by the United States' withdrawal from the region, which was meant to provide protection to several countries in the area.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
