ANALYSIS/OPINION:
A series of Chinese missile systems have reappeared on a disputed island in the South China Sea, days after satellite imagery appeared to show they had been removed (“China pulls missiles from South China Sea island in possible nod to Trump,” Web, June 10). China’s ambitions to become Asia’s undisputed regional hegemon is perhaps most evident in the South China Sea, as Beijing creates military bases along remote reefs and islands in a 1.5-million-square-mile expanse.
The South China Sea is one of the most contested regions in the world. Beijing claims an enormous swathe of territory across the region, overlapping claims from Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines, among others. As a challenge to China’s attempted dominance of the waterway and a deterrent to Beijing’s expansionism, perhaps all claiming countries should seek to play a constructive role by constructing their own islands, and should be permitted to maintain a base there under protection of the United States.
KENT WANG
Research fellow
Institute for Taiwan-America Studies
Potomac Falls, Va.
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