China building school on island in South China Sea

China is building a school on a remote island in the South China Sea to serve the 40-odd children of military personnel and others living there as part of its campaign to strengthen claims to disputed waters also claimed by Vietnam, Philippines and other nations.

China established a settlement called Sansha — which has a permanent population of 1,443 people — two years ago on tiny Yongxing island to administer hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of ocean.

The island is part of the Paracel chain, which is also claimed by Vietnam and about 350 kilometers from China’s southernmost province.

The Sansha government said in a statement that construction on the school started Saturday and was expected to take 18 months. 

China is building a school on a remote island in the South China Sea to serve the children of military personnel and others, expanding the rugged outpost it created two years ago to strengthen claims to disputed waters and islands.

China established the settlement of Sansha — which Beijing designates a “city” and has a permanent population of 1,443 — on tiny Yongxing island to administer hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of water where China wants to strengthen its control over the potentially oil-rich territory.