# Building Islands



## BloodStripe (Sep 10, 2014)

http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/10/6131637/china-is-building-islands-in-the-south-china-sea

How long does it take to build a man-made island? Especially one that is large enough to house a military base and airfield?



> Suppose you’re a rising superpower with your eye on some ocean territory, but all the good islands are taken. What do you do? You could go to war, or you could build your own islands.
> 
> China has been taking the latter option, dredging millions of tons of rock and sand and piling it on top of submerged reefs in the South China Sea. The BBC floated by some of the construction sites, documenting projects on five different reefs, including one that appears to be a concrete runway long enough to accommodate fighter jets.
> 
> ...


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## BloodStripe (Sep 10, 2014)

http://www.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2013/10/27/south-china-sea/


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## 0699 (Sep 13, 2014)

Pretty sure it doesn't count, unless you're China and you say it counts.  In the 70s, a group tried to make their own island on a reef and were quickly dispatched by the Tongans...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minerva_Reefs


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## BloodStripe (Dec 1, 2014)

http://www.janes.com/article/46083/china-building-airstrip-capable-island-on-fiery-cross-reef

Updated info.


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## TLDR20 (Dec 1, 2014)

Well if you can't get a capable aircraft carrier and flight crews you might as well just build an island..


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## DA SWO (Dec 1, 2014)

One good typhoon and your gone.


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## Raptor (Dec 3, 2014)

SOWT said:


> One good typhoon and your gone.


 I'm gonna laugh if one comes along before they even finish it.


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## Gunz (Dec 3, 2014)

It's being done all over the world, Qatar, Dubai, Japan--Kobe Airport is on a man-made island. Half the waterfront property in Florida is on artificial peninsulas created from dredging.


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