Great wall of sand

The Great wall of sand is the common name given to a series of land reclamation projects undertaken by the Chinese government since 2014 in the South China Sea – particularly the Paracel Island and Spratly island groups – in order to strengthen Chinese territorial claims to the region demarcated by the "nine-dotted line". They are created by dredging sand onto coral reefs to create artificial islands which are then concreted to make permanent structures. By the 2015 Shangri-La Dialogue over 8.1 km2 of new land has been created.

China states that the construction is for "improving the working and living conditions of people stationed on these islands" and that, "China is aiming to provide shelter, aid in navigation, weather forecasts and fishery assistance to ships of various countries passing through the sea." Defence analysts IHS Janes states that it is a "methodical, well planned campaign to create a chain of air and sea-capable fortresses". These "military-ready" installations include sea-walls and deep-water ports, barracks, and notably including runways on Fiery Cross Reef and Johnson South Reef. Aside from geo-political tensions, concerns have been raised about the environmental impact on fragile reef ecosystems through the destruction of habitat, pollution and interruption of migration routes.

There is no known official term for the projects, the phrase "great wall of sand" was first used by Harry Harris in March 2015, then commander of the US Pacific Fleet. The Vietnamese government is also undertaking simiar operations.

Reclamation activities
The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative's "Island tracker" lists the following locations as sites of island reclamation activities:

Reactions

 * 🇨🇳 China – Following confrontations between US P8-A Poseidon aircraft and the Chinese Navy over the constructions in May 2015, China stated that it has "...the right to engage in monitoring in the relevant air space and waters to protect the country's sovereignty and prevent accidents at sea."
 * 🇺🇸 USA – The construction is considered to be a key motivating factor behind the Obama administration's "Asia Pivot" military strategy. It believes "...that China’s activities in the South China Sea are driven by nationalism, part of a wider strategy aimed at undercutting US influence in Asia." It has declared that it would operate military aircraft in the region "'...in accordance with international law in disputed areas of the South China Sea' and would continue to do so 'consistent with the rights freedoms and lawful uses of the sea.'"
 * 🇦🇺 Australia – Opposed to "any coercive or unilateral actions to change the status quo in the South and East China Sea".
 * 🇰🇷 South Korea – No official stance, maintains an "...increasingly notable silence on freedom of navigation in the South China Sea".


 * ASEAN – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations stated that the constructions "may undermine peace, security and stability" in the region as well as having strongly negative impact on the marine environment and fishery stocks.
 * G7 – In a "Declaration on maritime security" before the 41st G7 summit, the G7 stated that, "We continue to observe the situation in the East and South China Seas and are concerned by any unilateral actions, such as large scale land reclamation, which change the status quo and increase tensions. We strongly oppose any attempt to assert territorial or maritime claims through the use of intimidation, coercion or force.