Aerial view of Lingyang Jiao Photo: Xinhua

Some foreign media have recently renewed speculations over China's construction at Lingyang Jiao in the Xisha Islands, questioning its legality and purpose while claiming that the completed first phase could become part of China's "largest military base" in the region.

China has firmly rejected such framing. "Xisha Qundao is China's inherent territory, over which there is no dispute. Necessary construction on our own territory is aimed at improving living and working conditions on the islands and growing the local economy," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian at a regular press conference on March 23.

Despite that clear explanation, some foreign media outlets continued to scrutinize the Chinese reef. Why is China carrying out construction at Lingyang Jiao, and why do external parties have no grounds to interfere? Chinese experts recently spoke with the Global Times about the history, purpose and legal basis of the project.

Indisputable sovereignty

Lingyang Jiao, whose name comes from its resemblance to an antelope horn, lies on the western side of Yongle Atoll in the Xisha Islands, about 89 kilometers from Yongxing Island and 6.5 kilometers from Jinyin Island. The reef stretches six kilometers from north to south, measures about 3.5 kilometers at its widest point and covers roughly 15 square kilometers.

The reef, also traditionally known among Chinese fishermen as Kuangzai or Quanzai, is administered by the Yongle Working Committee of Sansha in South China's Hainan Province.

"Lingyang Jiao is an inherent part of China's territory. Fishermen from Hainan sailed there to fish as early as the Ming and Qing dynasties," Xu Xiaodong, a vice chairman of the Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance, told the Global Times on March 23.

In 1935, the then-Chinese government included the reef in its bilingual list of South China Sea island names. Its name was reviewed again in a corresponding list issued by the then- Ministry of the Interior in 1947 and has remained in use ever since, Xu said.

During the 1974 Xisha self-defense counterattack, the South Vietnamese warship Nhat Tao was sunk in waters near Lingyang Jiao. Xu said these facts demonstrate the Chinese government's determination and actions to safeguard its sovereignty over the Xisha Islands, including Lingyang Jiao.

Lei Xiaolu, a professor at Wuhan University China Institute of Boundary and Ocean Studies, said China was the first country to discover, develop and administer the Xisha Islands. Successive Chinese governments have continuously exercised jurisdiction over the islands, including Lingyang Jiao, forming a clear historical record.

France recognized China's sovereignty over the Xisha Islands in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Lei said. When France attempted to occupy the Xisha Islands in 1931 and nine islands and reefs in the Nansha Islands in 1933, the Chinese government immediately protested and reaffirmed its sovereignty.

Numerous official documents from that period clearly placed the Dongsha, Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha island groups within Chinese territory, such as a 1935 map of the South China Sea islands, a brief chorography of the South China Sea islands in 1947, a comparison table of their old and new names, and a location map bearing the South China Sea dash line. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Chinese government continued to exercise sovereignty over the Xisha Islands. 

"Lingyang Jiao is part of China's Xisha Islands. The Chinese government has repeatedly made clear that China has indisputable sovereignty over the Xisha Islands," Lei said.

Construction to improve living

Previously published aerial images have shown Lingyang Jiao's distinctive ring-shaped lagoon, but its natural beauty long contrasted with the rudimentary living conditions faced by local fishermen.

According to the official website of the Sansha city government, the reef was once almost entirely barren, with little vegetation. Fishermen lived two or three to a coral-stone hut measuring only three or four square meters.

For a long period, a single diesel generator was used to supply electricity on the reef, providing power only between 7 pm and 11 pm. Fresh water had to be carried from vessels arriving from Hainan Island, while typhoons posed a constant threat to residents and their homes.

Construction of a fishermen's settlement was put on the agenda in 2012. However, the complex topography and hydrological conditions around the reef prevented large vessels from approaching, forcing workers to carry construction materials ashore by hand. 

After years of development, Lingyang Jiao now has basic infrastructure including a desalination facility and a power station. Its navigation channel has been dredged and opened, and a fishermen's settlement has been completed. 

Xu said the current construction serves at least two purposes: The first is to provide more and better public services.

Lingyang Jiao lies on the outer edge of the Yongle Islands, surrounded by some of the most difficult navigational waters in the Xisha Islands. In 2015, the Chinese government built and activated a lighthouse there to provide navigation services for passing vessels.

"Further construction can provide stronger infrastructure support for maritime search and rescue, disaster prevention and mitigation, and help ensure navigational safety in the South China Sea," Xu said.

The project will also further improve local residents' living conditions. Transport difficulties have long left the reef short of essential supplies, while typhoons have repeatedly caused serious damage to housing. The construction can better meet fishermen's needs for water, electricity, secure housing and employment, Xu noted.

"Fishermen working in the South China Sea have long faced extremely harsh conditions. Far from shore, they spent weeks exposed to intense sunlight, strong winds, heavy rain and sudden typhoons, often without a safe place to rest or repair their boats," Ding Duo, director of the Research Center for International and Regional Issues at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times on August 19.

Ding said the construction is intended to improve the living standards of Chinese fishermen and represents a direct result of China's people-centered development philosophy. 

"China now has the capacity and resources to develop infrastructure at Lingyang Jiao. Doing so is both feasible and responsible, and responds to the long-standing needs of fishermen who have depended on these waters for their livelihoods for centuries," Ding said. 

Besides, ecological protection has remained a prerequisite for production and construction on the reef. In 2019, a research team led by Professor Xie Qiang from Sun Yat-sen University School of Life Sciences discovered a new marine insect species at Lingyang Jiao and named it after the reef.

It was China's first discovery of a strictly marine insect group at the family level within its territory and territorial waters, filling a gap in the country's scientific records. 

"China's land reclamation and construction activities are conducted in strict accordance with laws, regulations and ecological standards," Xu said. "Through technological innovation and systematic governance, China has balanced ecological protection with resource utilization. The results of environmental protection at Lingyang Jiao and in its surrounding waters are clearly visible," Xu said.

No room for external interference

China's construction at Lingyang Jiao has drawn persistent attention from some foreign media. Since January, outlets including Newsweek have used satellite images to speculate about the project.

The US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies recently claimed that the reclaimed area at Lingyang Jiao had surpassed that of Yongxing Island and was approaching the size of Meiji Jiao, China's largest island reef in the South China Sea.

A Reuters report published on Wednesday went further, claiming that Lingyang Jiao could be one of the Chinese military's most important features in the South China Sea. It speculated that the reef could host surveillance facilities or support nuclear-powered submarines to strengthen China's military presence around key waterways. 

Ding rejected this accusation, saying that as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China conducts construction on islands and reefs in the South China Sea strictly within the framework of international law.

"The construction at Lingyang Jiao is peaceful in nature and serves the public. It is intended to better safeguard national territory while providing practical assistance to people and vessels operating in the South China Sea," Ding said.

Ding said improved infrastructure at Lingyang Jiao would bring broader benefits to the region by strengthening China's capacity to provide public services. These include more accurate weather forecasting, faster and more efficient emergency rescue, broader marine scientific research and stronger safety support for the South China Sea's busy international shipping routes.

"China's construction can provide more international public goods and help reduce risks for merchant ships, fishing vessels and other maritime activities," Ding said. "It is not militarization, but an effort aimed at safeguarding peace and stability. The tendency to view everything China does as military in purpose reflects the dark geopolitical mentality of the West."

Xu said China's land reclamation and construction activities also have a solid basis in international law. China ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1996 and, under the convention, has the right to conduct construction on islands and reefs within its own territorial waters without seeking the consent or approval of any other country.

"The Xisha Islands have been Chinese territory since ancient times. Lingyang Jiao has long been a place where Chinese fishermen live and work, and it also carries the history of the Maritime Silk Road," Xu said.

Both history and present-day reality demonstrate China's indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands, including the Xisha Islands, Xu noted. The waters surrounding the Xisha Islands are under China's effective administration, making land reclamation and construction at Lingyang Jiao normal activities within China's sovereign jurisdiction.

Objections from external parties are inconsistent with China's long-standing administration of the South China Sea islands and have no basis in international law or international rules, Xu said. No country has the right to protest or criticize China's construction activities at Lingyang Jiao.