China sets up plant to treat water in disputed sea

Seeking to strengthen its hold over the disputed South China Sea, China Monday said it had commissioned the first desalination plant in the strategic maritime region.

The plant has been set up in Sansha City, a prefecture level city, formed in 2012 to administer a number of islands and atolls, including the Spratly Islands — a disputed group of 14 islands, islets and more than 100 reefs.

The new facility, officially commissioned on Saturday on the city’s Yongxing Island, is capable of treating 1,000 tonnes of seawater per day and 700 tonnes of the processed water would be potable, according to state-run Xinhua news agency.

Currently, the desalination equipment on Yongxing Island can process 1,800 tonnes of seawater a day. It was essential to support a large infrastructure development, including settlements, specially that of fishermen, who are considered the forward guards in China’s efforts to claim all of South China Sea.

China has invested heavily in the area to develop schools, offices and other administrative infrastructures. The South China Sea is a disputed region with rival claims by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Meanwhile, China’s State Oceanic Administration has announced plans to set up nine state-level marine parks. One of the parks would be located in Hainan, close to the SCS.

The other parks will be in Liaoning, Fujian, Shandong and Guangdong provinces, an said a SOA circular. The SOA has ordered local marine authorities to start demarcating the parks.