The Chinese government said on Tuesday that it has completed some of its land reclamation work in the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea and will now start building facilities on the reclaimed land to fulfill its functional requirements.
Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Tuesday at a daily press briefing that land reclamation efforts on some of the islands and reefs of the Nansha Islands have been completed as scheduled.
"In the next stage, China will start the building of facilities to meet relevant functional requirements," she said.
The facilities, which will mainly provide various civilian services, will enable China to better perform its international obligations and responsibilities in areas such as maritime search and rescue, disaster prevention and mitigation, marine scientific research, meteorological observation, ecological conservation, navigation safety as well as fishery production services, Hua said. Necessary military defense requirements will also be fulfilled, she added.
China's construction work in the Nansha Islands has drawn criticism from several countries, including the US, which has called for a halt to the project and repeatedly voiced concerns about the country's future plans for more construction work, including for military purposes.
A US anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft, with CNN reporters on board, flew over waters near China's Nansha Islands in May.
Rear Admiral Guan Youfei of China's defense ministry on June 15 urged the US to halt its increasing aerial surveillance of the region.
China has reiterated that its construction work in the region aims to provide civilian benefits and fulfill its international obligations.
