Great Wall of Sand

Lore & Background

The PRC used hundreds of dredges and barges, including the giant self-propelled dredger Tian Jing Hao, built in 2009 in China. This 127-meter-long cutter suction dredger, designed by German engineering company Vosta LMG, has a dredging capacity of 4,500 m³/h and operated on Cuarteron Reef, the Gaven Reefs, and Fiery Cross Reef. The PRC states the construction is for improving working and living conditions and providing shelter, navigation aid, weather forecasts, and fishery assistance to passing ships. Defence analysts IHS Jane's described it as a 'methodical, well planned campaign to create a chain of air and sea-capable fortresses,' with military-ready installations including sea-walls, deep-water ports, barracks, and runways on Fiery Cross Reef, Mischief Reef, and Subi Reef.

Reader's Guide

The "Great Wall of Sand" is notable for its scale and geopolitical implications. The reclamation created around five square miles of artificial islands by 2023, at least one housing military equipment. The construction outpaced previous artificial island building by the Philippines and Vietnam from 2014 to 2016. The project raised legal issues under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that China's artificial islands in the Spratly archipelago fell outside China's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), violating the Philippines' exclusive right to construct artificial islands under Article 60(1)(a) of UNCLOS. China disputed the ruling, labeling it 'null and void.'

Environmental concerns were also prominent. The dredging destroyed reef ecosystems, with sediment plumes smothering marine life and blocking sunlight for reef-building corals. Shallow-water dredging removed not only sand and gravel but also lagoon and reef flat ecosystems. Damaged reefs may not fully recover for 10 to 15 years, and placing artificial islands on reefs prevents coral regrowth and harms fisheries. These actions were argued to violate Articles 192, 194(2), and 194(5) of UNCLOS, as well as Article 3 of the Convention on Biological Diversity, particularly since the construction occurred outside China's EEZ and within that of other states.

Did You Know?

• By December 2016, the reclamation had created 1,300 hectares (3,200 acres) of new land.
• The PRC used the giant dredger Tian Jing Hao, built in 2009 and designed by a German company.
• The 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling found China's construction violated the Philippines' exclusive right to build artificial islands under UNCLOS.