China dubs tiny island its new city in sea

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China dubs tiny island its new city in sea

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Sansha is China's newest city is a tiny island in sea, barely large enough to host single airstrip.

24 July,2012 07:01 pm

There is a post office, bank, supermarket and a hospital, but little else. Fresh water comes by freighter on a 13-hour journey from Chinas southernmost province.Welcome to Sansha, Chinas expanding toehold in the worlds most disputed waters, portions of which are also claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines and other neighbors. On Tuesday, as blustery island winds buffeted palm trees, a new mayor declared Sansha with a population of just 1,000 Chinas newest municipality.Beijing has created the city administration to oversee not only the rugged outpost but hundreds of thousands of square kilometers (miles) of water, aiming to strengthen its control over disputed and potentially oil-rich islands.A spokesman for the Philippines Foreign Ministry said Manila did not recognize the city or its jurisdiction. Vietnam said Chinas actions violated international law.The city administration is on tiny Yongxing island, 350 kilometers (220 miles) southeast from Chinas tropical Hainan Island. The Cabinet approved Sansha last month to consolidate administration over the Paracel and Spratly island chains and the Macclesfield Bank, a large, completely submerged atoll that boasts rich fishing grounds that is also claimed by Taiwan and the Philippines.Vietnam and China both claim the Paracels, of which Yongxing, little more than half the size of Manhattans Central Park, is part. The two countries along with the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also claim all or parts of the Spratlys.China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and its island groups, and its disputes occasionally erupt into open confrontation.The islands, many of them occupied by garrisons from the various claimants, sit amid some of the worlds busiest commercial sea lanes, along with rich fishing grounds and potential oil and gas deposits. China has approved the formal establishment of a military garrison for Sansha, though specific details have yet to be released.Official broadcaster China Central Television aired Tuesday mornings formal establishment ceremony live from Sansha, with speeches from the citys new mayor and other officials.The Chinese flag was raised and national anthem played before plaques for the Sansha Municipal Government and the Sansha Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China were unveiled on a white-columned government building.Mayor Xiao Jie trumpeted Sanshas important role in protecting Chinas sovereignty. He said the designation of Sansha as a new city was a wise decision made by the party and the government of China to protect the sovereign rights of China, and to strengthen the protection and the development of natural resources.The official Xinhua News Agency reported earlier that Sanshas jurisdiction covers just 13 sq. kilometers (5 sq. miles) of land, including other islands and atolls in the South China Sea around Yongxing, but 2 million sq. kilometers (770,000 sq. miles) of surrounding waters.Sansha means three sandbanks in Mandarin and appears to refer to the Chinese names for the disputed island chains and atoll, known in Chinese as the West, South and Middle Banks, or Xisha, Nansha and Zhongsha.A description from a former Peoples Liberation Army officer who was among the officials overseeing the island before Sansha was established paints a picture of a harsh and isolated post where officials took turns staffing for a month at a time. Though, he said fishermen live there all year round.The living conditions are pretty simple, Tan Xiankun, director of the office in Hainan overseeing Xisha and other South China Sea territories, told The Associated Press in 2010. Its very humid and hot, more than 30 degrees, and theres salt everywhere. Theres no fresh water, except for whats shipped in and whats collected from rain water.Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said Manila has expressed its concern and registered a strong protest with Beijing over the decision to set up a military garrison on Sansha.The Philippines does not recognize the Sansha city and the extent of its jurisdiction and considers recent measures taken by China as unacceptable, Hernandez told a news conference.Vietnams Foreign Ministry spokesman Luong Thanh Nghi said in a statement that Vietnam had protested to the Chinese foreign ministry.Chinas establishment of the so-called Sansha City ... violated international law, seriously violating Vietnam sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagoes, Nghi said.A report released Tuesday by the International Crisis Group think tank said that although Chinas large claim to the South China Sea and its assertive approach has rattled other claimants, Beijing is not stoking tensions on its own.South East Asian claimants, with Vietnam and the Philippines in the forefront, are now more forcefully defending their claims and enlisting outside allies with considerable energy, it said, a reference to Washingtons move to influence the Asian balance of power by supporting Chinas neighbors.The report also warned that the risk of escalation was high and urged claimants to find ways to jointly manage energy resources and fishing areas while also agreeing on a mechanism for handling incidents.In the absence of such a mechanism, tensions in the South China Sea could all too easily be driven to irreversible levels, it said.