MANILA, Philippines — China intends to use its "magical island maker" to expand the size of its reclaimed islands in the South China Sea following years of massive reclamations and despite continuing protests from neighboring countries. "The size of some South China Sea Islands will be further expanded in the future with more dredging vessels, such as the [Tian Kun Hao] working on the land reclamation projects in the South China Sea region," Chen Xiangmiao, a research fellow at the National Institute for the South China Sea, the state-run Global Times said. This expansion will likely continue just months after China in November launched Tian Kun Hao, its biggest island-making vessel and described as a "magic island maker." A new government report said that China "reasonably" expanded the area of its South China Sea islands, with construction projects in 2017 alone covering about 290,000 square meters. It said that the construction activities will help China meet its "international responsibility" including maritime search and rescue and navigation safety and environment protection.

Source: Philippine Star December 26, 2017 09:00 UTC