China will soon complete controversial land reclamation on islets in disputed waters in the South China Sea that has aggravated tensions with the U.S. and neighbors.
China's foreign ministry, in a statement released on Thursday, said it is shifting work from the dredging of land to the construction of facilities on the artificial islands including military bases. China’s Foreign Ministry statement reads that the construction "Will be completed in the upcoming days,”.
"According to the planned operation, China is about to complete the land reclamation operation at some of the Nansha islands where China has been stationed," the statement said.
US has repeatedly called an "immediate and lasting" halt to the island building as China last year embarked on land reclamation on several reefs in contested waters close to the Nansha Islands China emphasizes that its construction did not target any other countries or affect freedom of navigation by sea or air.
The South China Sea is the subject of numerous territorial claims, with China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam disputing sovereignty of several island chains and nearby waters.
