China Presses Its Maritime Luck, Blocks Access To Fishing Lanes

‘No fishing for you!’
We suppose it was only a matter of time, but Beijing has now escalated the South China Sea dispute.
The waters around the Spratlys have become the subject of international diplomacy after China decided to dredge up 3,000 acres of new sovereign territory in what amounts to the most epic sand castle building exercise in maritime history.
The world first caught on to what China was up to (and no, that’s not derogatory because they were literally ‘up to something’), early last year when satellite images depicted rapid construction on Fiery Cross Reef. The situation escalated quickly and before you knew it, the PLA was warning a Poseidon spy plane with a CNN crew aboard to ‘go now’ in a move that pretty clearly indicated China intended to establish a no-fly zone over its new islands.

This post was published at Zero Hedge on 03/02/2016.