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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 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, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, in March 2015. Other countries in the region are also undertaking similar operations.〔(Sand cay tracker ). The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative and The Center for Strategic and International Studies〕 As of 2015, the Pentagon estimates for the amount of reclaimed land by area per country is as follows: China (2,900 acres), Vietnam (80 acres), Malaysia (70 acres), the Philippines (14 acres) and Taiwan (8 acres). == Reclamation activities == The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative's "Island tracker" lists the following locations as sites of island reclamation activities: 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Great wall of sand」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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