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Why China is carrying out construction at Lingyang Jiao: Experts cite sovereignty, livelihoods and public services_我的网站

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    Aerial view of Lingyang Jiao Photo: XinhuaSome foreign media have recently renewed hypes over China's construction at Lingyang Jiao in the Xisha Qundao (Xisha Islands), claiming that the completed first phase could become part of China's "largest military base" in the region.
China has firmly rejected such hypes. "Xisha Qundao is China's inherent territory, over which there is no dispute. Necessary construction on our own territory is aimed at improving living and working conditions on the islands and growing the local economy," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian at a regular press conference on March 23.
Despite that clear explanation, some foreign media outlets continued to point their finger at the Chinese reef. Why is China carrying out construction at Lingyang Jiao, and why do external parties have no grounds to reproach? Chinese experts recently spoke with the Global Times about the history, purpose and legal basis of the construction on the reef.
Indisputable sovereignty
Lingyang Jiao, whose name comes from its resemblance to an antelope horn, lies on the western side of Yongle Atoll in the Xisha Qundao, about 89 kilometers from Yongxing Island and 6.5 kilometers from Jinyin Island. The reef stretches six kilometers from north to south, measures about 3.5 kilometers at its widest point and covers roughly 15 square kilometers.
The reef, also traditionally known among Chinese fishermen as Kuangzai or Quanzai, is administered by the city of Sansha in South China's Hainan Province.
"Lingyang Jiao is an inherent part of China's territory. Fishermen from Hainan sailed there to fish as early as the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties," Xu Xiaodong, a vice chairman of the Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance, told the Global Times on March 23.
In 1935, the then-Chinese government included the reef in its bilingual list of South China Sea island names. Its name was reviewed again in a corresponding list issued by the then ministry of the interior in 1947 and has remained in use ever since, Xu said.
During the 1974 Xisha self-defense counterattack, the South Vietnamese warship Nhat Tao was sunk in waters near Lingyang Jiao. Xu said these facts demonstrate the Chinese government's determination and actions to safeguard its sovereignty over the Xisha Qundao, including Lingyang Jiao.
Lei Xiaolu, a professor at Wuhan University China Institute of Boundary and Ocean Studies, said that China was the first country to discover, develop and administer the Xisha Qundao. Successive Chinese governments have continuously exercised jurisdiction over the islands, including Lingyang Jiao, forming a clear historical record.
France recognized China's sovereignty over the Xisha Qundao in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Lei said. When France attempted to occupy the Xisha Qundao in 1931 and nine islands and reefs in the Nansha Qundao in 1933, the Chinese government immediately protested and reaffirmed its sovereignty.
Numerous official documents from that period clearly placed the Dongsha, Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha Qundao within Chinese territory, such as a 1935 map of the South China Sea islands, a brief chorography of the South China Sea islands in 1947, a comparison table of their old and new names, and a location map bearing the South China Sea dash line. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Chinese government continued to exercise sovereignty over the Xisha Qundao. 
"Lingyang Jiao is part of China's Xisha Qundao. The Chinese government has repeatedly made clear that China has indisputable sovereignty over the Xisha Qundao," Lei said.
Construction to improve living
Previously published aerial images have shown Lingyang Jiao's distinctive ring-shaped lagoon, but its natural beauty long contrasted with the rudimentary living conditions faced by local fishermen.
According to the official website of the Sansha city government, the reef was once almost entirely barren, with little vegetation. Fishermen lived two or three to a coral-stone hut measuring only three or four square meters.
For a long period, a single diesel generator was used to supply electricity on the reef, providing power only between 7 pm and 11 pm. Fresh water had to be carried from vessels arriving from Hainan Island, while typhoons posed a constant threat to residents and their homes.
Construction of a fishermen's settlement was put on the agenda in 2012. However, the complex topography and hydrological conditions around the reef prevented large vessels from approaching, forcing workers to carry construction materials ashore by hand. 
After years of development, Lingyang Jiao now has basic infrastructure including a desalination facility and a power station. Its navigation channel has been dredged and opened, and a fishermen's settlement has been completed. 
Xu said the current construction serves at least two purposes: The first is to provide more and better public services.
Lingyang Jiao lies on the outer edge of the Yongle Islands, surrounded by some of the most difficult navigational waters in the Xisha Qundao. In 2015, the Chinese government built and activated a lighthouse there to provide navigation services for passing vessels.
"Further construction can provide stronger infrastructure support for maritime search and rescue, disaster prevention and mitigation, and help ensure navigational safety in the South China Sea," Xu said.
The construction will also further improve local residents' living conditions. Transport difficulties have long left the reef short of essential supplies, while typhoons have repeatedly caused serious damage to housing. The construction can better meet fishermen's needs for water, electricity, secure housing and employment, Xu noted.
"Fishermen working in the South China Sea have long faced extremely harsh conditions. Far from shore, they spent weeks exposed to intense sunlight, strong winds, heavy rain and sudden typhoons, often without a safe place to rest or repair their boats," Ding Duo, director of the Research Center for International and Regional Issues at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Ding said the construction is intended to improve the living standards of Chinese fishermen and represents a direct result of China's people-centered development philosophy. 
"China now has the capacity and resources to develop infrastructure at Lingyang Jiao. Doing so is both feasible and responsible, and responds to the long-standing needs of fishermen who have depended on these waters for their livelihoods for centuries," Ding said. 
Besides, ecological protection has remained a prerequisite for production and construction on the reef. In 2019, a research team led by Professor Xie Qiang from Sun Yat-sen University School of Life Sciences discovered a new marine insect species at Lingyang Jiao and named it after the reef.
It was China's first discovery of a strictly marine insect group at the family level within its territory and territorial waters, filling a gap in the country's scientific records. 
"China's land reclamation and construction activities are conducted in strict accordance with laws, regulations and ecological standards," Xu said. "Through technological innovation and systematic governance, China has balanced ecological protection with resource utilization. The results of environmental protection at Lingyang Jiao and in its surrounding waters are clearly visible," Xu said.
No room for external interference
China's construction at Lingyang Jiao has drawn persistent attention from some foreign media. Since January, outlets including Newsweek have used satellite images to hype the project.
The US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies recently claimed that the reclaimed area at Lingyang Jiao had surpassed that of Yongxing Island and was approaching the size of Meiji Jiao, China's largest island reef in the South China Sea.
A Reuters report published on Wednesday went further, claiming that Lingyang Jiao could be one of the Chinese military's most important features in the South China Sea. It speculated that the reef could host surveillance facilities or support nuclear-powered submarines to strengthen "China's military presence around key waterways." 
Ding rejected this accusation, saying that as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China conducts construction on islands and reefs in the South China Sea strictly within the framework of international law.
"The construction at Lingyang Jiao is peaceful in nature and serves the public. It is intended to better safeguard national territory while providing practical assistance to people and vessels operating in the South China Sea," Ding said.
Ding said improved infrastructure at Lingyang Jiao would bring broader benefits to the region by strengthening China's capacity to provide public services. These include more accurate weather forecasting, faster and more efficient emergency rescue, broader marine scientific research and stronger safety support for the South China Sea's busy international shipping routes.
"China's construction can provide more international public goods and help reduce risks for merchant ships, fishing vessels and other maritime activities," Ding said. "It is not militarization, but an effort aimed at safeguarding peace and stability. The tendency to view everything China does as military in purpose reflects the dark geopolitical mentality of the West."
Xu said China's land reclamation and construction activities also have a solid basis in international law. China ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1996 and, under the convention, has the right to conduct construction on islands and reefs within its own territorial waters without seeking the consent or approval of any other country.
"The Xisha Qundao have been Chinese territory since ancient times. Lingyang Jiao has long been a place where Chinese fishermen live and work, and it also carries the history of the Maritime Silk Road," Xu said.
Both history and present-day reality demonstrate China's indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands, including the Xisha Qundao, Xu noted. The waters surrounding the Xisha Qundao are under China's effective administration, making land reclamation and construction at Lingyang Jiao normal activities within China's sovereign jurisdiction.
Objections from external parties are inconsistent with China's long-standing administration of the South China Sea islands and have no basis in international law or international rules, Xu said. No country has the right to interfere in China's construction activities at Lingyang Jiao.
。    中新网北京8月24日电 (记者 孙自法)宇宙中的小红点究竟是怎样的存在？北京时间8月24日夜间，施普林格·自然旗下专业学术期刊《自然-天文学》在线发表中国学者领衔完成的一篇研究论文认为，小红点可能位于总质量约为太阳10亿倍的小型致密宿主星系中。         　　这一重要天文发现，为宇宙大爆炸后最初十亿年间小红点等神秘天体的形成提供了新见解。                   本项研究关于早期宇宙中小红点的艺术概念图(图片来自研究团队)。施普林格·自然 供图          　　该论文介绍，宇宙小红点是近年来天文学界关注到的遥远的微小红色天体，其中心可能存在超大质量黑洞。不过，这些小红点的本质和它们光的来源尚不明确。过去的研究在紫外波段发现部分小红点周围存在微弱的延展成分，可能表明存在宿主星系的特征。不过，在光学波段(人眼可见光波段)还鲜有证据可以探测到这些结构成分，而光学波段能更明确地揭示恒星质量。

B |          　　在本项研究中，论文共同通讯作者、武汉大学教授丁旭恒和湖南师范大学特聘教授杨里岚与同事及国际合作者一起，结合詹姆斯·韦布空间望远镜217个小红点的图像，揭示出在单张影像中无法明确检测到的微弱光学发射(延伸至中心天体之外的光)。

C |          　　研究团队通过数据建模表明，这些光学发射可能来自正在形成恒星的宿主星系，这些星系平均半径仅210秒差距(约685光年)，其紧凑程度约为宇宙历史中相近时期其他相似质量恒星形成星系的2.5倍。         　　研究团队认为，这些天文学研究发现表明，宇宙小红点并不是孤立的点光源，其周围很可能还存在一个紧凑的宿主星系，这为揭示小红点究竟是什么、又是如何形成的提供了重要线索。

D |          　　他们也提醒说，本项研究揭示的是小红点这一群体的平均特征。由于其宿主星系发出的光十分微弱，目前在大多数单个小红点中还难以直接探测到。因此，后续研究需要利用更多波段、更深的观测以及更大的样本进一步验证这一发现，并结合光谱信息了解这些宿主星系的性质，进而探索早期宇宙中星系与中心黑洞的共同演化关系。(完)                【编辑:万纪玮】。

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