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On this episode of China Uncensored,
China is building more islands!
Hi, welcome to China Uncensored. I'm your host, Chris Chappell.
You know, a few folks have been upset recently about
China building islands in the disputed South China Sea
and by a few folks,
I mean the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan.
That's why so many people were relieved when they learned that in August,
China's Foreign Minister announced China would finally stop its island building operations.
What they might not have considered is that he made that announcement at an ASEAN Summit
while being surrounded by delegates from those upset countries.
What do you think he's gonna say?
It's like when I went to that Red Sox game in Boston.
What? I'm totally a Red Sox fan.
That's why I wasn't all that surprised when I saw this on Tuesday.
"This is apparently the third airstrip that China has built in the South China Sea".
Yes, why build two islands and violation of international law when you can build three?
That's not a rhetorical question.
"Once they're established and once they have these
well-entrenched military bases in the South China Sea, it's going to be very very difficult to turn that back."
But it doesn't stop there.
No!
China isn't satisfied with pumping sand to build fake islands.
I mean, you can only build those
where there's already a submerged shallow reef.
That's why China is now considering a plan to build floating islands in the South China Sea.
Yes, two Chinese companies are pitching million tonne floating sea bases
But don't worry, China is committed to peaceful development.
That's why the proposal is for multi-use,
you know, shipping, power generation, and tourism.
Wait! Tourism?
Yes, blue skies, turquoise waters, white sandy beaches.
Let's take a look at my new floating tropical paradise.
That... doesn't look like a tropical paradise.
That's better!
These things are called, "I kid you not!"
Very large floating structures
and they are very large.
The proposed Chinese, VLFS,
would be made of semi submersible whole sections that could be snapped together, like Legos
and the largest piece would be almost 3,000 feet long.
That's more than twice as long as the largest structure currently floating on the ocean,
Shell Australia's Prelude Natural gas platform.
And not only that but according to one of the companies,
the VLFS would also be mobile with a capacity to travel up to eleven miles per hour.
Of course, some people are concerned that in addition to tourism,
they can also be used for military purposes.
After all, compare to a traditional aircraft carrier,
a VLFS could carry significantly more planes and supplies.
And one design has a runway that's more than a mile long
meaning bigger aircraft could land as well.
C'mon! When has China ever shown itself to be militaristic?
Oh! Right.
But seriously, how close is China to actually building these floating islands of mass destruction,
I mean, mass tourism?
Well, to put it in context,
China has never even built a regular aircraft carrier.
I mean, China does have that old Soviet carrier that they bought to refurbish
but, like buying used electronics on Craigslist,
it's not without its problems.
So on second thought, I think I might head down at Kokomo instead.
So what do you think?
How would you spend a vacation on one of these floating island?
Leave your comments below and if you liked this episode, subscribe for more.
Once again, I'm Chris Chappell.
See you next time!