Nansha Islands has more than 230 islands, reefs and sandbanks. It is the southernmost island of the four major islands in my country, and the largest area is Meiji Island . This is an artificial island built on reclaimed coral atolls, with a total area of about 5.66 square kilometers. Because Meiji Island is like a heart shape, many people also call this island the heart of the ocean.
The predecessor of Meiji Island was Meiji Reef, which is the largest atoll in Nansha . It was originally called Nanye Reef. In 1947, the government of the Republic of China at that time named Meiji Reef. Fishermen also called it Shuangmen Atoll because there are two waterways on the atoll that facilitate fishing boats entering and exiting.
Meiji Reef is a natural haven and breeding farm.
There are more than 200 islands and reefs in the Nansha Islands, and there are also many islands exposed to the water. The larger ones are 0.5 square kilometers of Taiping Island and 0.4 square kilometers of Zhongye Island . However, the natural conditions are not as good as Meiji Reef. There are well-developed atolls and wide and deep lagoons here.
Miji Reef’s reef area is 10 square kilometers. When low tide, the reef will be exposed to the water surface 1.8 meters, and the water depth of 1 kilometer can reach 1.0 meters. The atoll surrounded the atoll to form a huge lagoon, with an area of 36 square kilometers and a water depth of 25 meters. This is the largest lagoon in the entire Nansha. It can be moored by a large destroyer of thousands of tons. When China first conducted scientific research on Meiji Reef in 1994, the "Xiangyanghong 14" scientific research ship weighing 4,000 tons entered the lagoon through the reef gate.
Meiji Reef is also a natural shelter. The sea around Meiji Reef is strong and stormy, but the lagoons in the reef are relatively calm and the large-tonnage inspection boats are still motionless inside because the atoll itself has a certain ability to resist wind. When the sand is blown, its wind resistance is stronger and it has become a natural shelter in the vast sea. Whenever there is a strong wind, passing fishermen and fishing boats will come here to shelter and replenish wind.
Meiji Reef was a deserted island and reef a long time ago.
1987, the China Nansha Comprehensive Scientific Expedition Team conducted a comprehensive survey on Nansha Islands for the first time, boarded the unmanned island of Meiji Reef, and set up an observation sign on .
Since 994, China has begun to implement the development, utilization and management of Meiji Reef. At that time, the aquatic products company tried to use the lagoon of Meiji Reef to breed high-end fish. At this time, the living environment of Meiji Reef was harsh, with the exposed sea surface less than 2 square kilometers. The fishery administration department built 14 first-generation high-foot houses built with simple steel frames on the reef floors in the four directions of , southeast, west and northeast, to manage the fishery production in the waters of Meiji Reef. Even though the conditions were very simple at that time, marked that Meiji Reef changed from an unmanned island to an actual control of China.
Due to the corrosion of seawater, the first generation of high-legged houses can only be used for two or three years. In order to improve the working and living conditions of Meiji Reef, in the second half of 1998, under the escort of my country's "Jianghu"-class frigates, my country spent several months to build 4 three-story reinforced concrete reef forts in Meiji Reef, improving meteorology, communications, photovoltaic power generation, fishery supply and defense facilities, making the island and reef a forefront of China in the South China Sea.
my country exercises sovereignty and related production and construction in Meiji Reef, and has been damaged by multiple unreasonable interferences and damages from Philippine .
On March 23, 1995, the Philippines destroyed the logo set up by China on Wufang Reef, Half Moon Reef, Xianbin Reef , and accused China of expanding "military buildings" in Meiji Reef. On May 13, 1995, the Philippine government organized 38 domestic and foreign journalists to use ships and helicopters to attempt to conduct so-called "interviews" at Meiji Reef, but ultimately failed under the obstruction of Chinese fishing government ships and reef guards.
For a long time, the Philippines has claimed that it is closest to Meiji Reef and owns the ownership of Meiji Reef. However, according to international practice, the principle of whoever controls who owns it. China's scientific research and construction of Meiji Reef is first. Although Meiji Reef is relatively close to the Philippines, the Philippines did not control Meiji Reef at that time.
In 2007, typhoon Haibeth attacked Meiji Reef, causing 12 fishermen to fall into the sea and 9 people to die, which also prompted the construction of Meiji Reef to begin to accelerate. In 2012, Meiji Reef established the Meiji Village Committee of Nansha District, Sansha City, and began to manage Meiji Reef fishery production in the form of grassroots organizations. On February 18, 2013, Meiji Reef was officially converted from a fishery administration department to a subsidiary of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and the reef guards were refreshed.
Starting from January 2015, my country began to build land on Meiji Reef blowing sand and reclamation . What is sand and reclamation ?
Sand-blowing and filling means firstly circle the place to be filled with a sandbag, and then use a high-power pump with a long pipe carried by the sand digging boat to blow the sand from the seabed outside the circle and the seawater into the target circle. The seawater flows out of the circle, and the sand stays in the circle, and gradually fills the land, and then use the tamper to compact the loosening of the soil.
China's current blowing and filling technology has reached the world's advanced level. Among them, the Tianjing dredger ranks first in Asia. The long pipes it carries can blow sand and water to a place 6 kilometers away.
Meiji Reef has become Meiji Island
Meiji Reef's sand-blowing and sea reclamation project was announced to be completed in just over half a year, and finally formed .66 square kilometers of land area . This area exceeds that of the United States, the most important naval base in Pacific . built a 25.7-kilometer concrete shore protection along the main island. Meiji Reef stretches for 13 kilometers and is extraordinary, becoming the largest artificial island in the South China Sea. Meiji Reef has since become Meiji Island.
Maybe someone will ask, will sand and sea reclamation have an impact on marine ecology?
The sand-blowing and sea reclamation project of Meiji Reef uses natural simulation method, that is, it imitates the natural process of wind and waves blowing and transporting coral sand and gravel in the ocean, and then gradually evolves into a maritime oasis. Therefore, the impact on the ecological environment of coral reefs is local and temporary, and can be restored.
From the implementation of the Meiji Reef land reclamation project, it is relatively simple to fill, and it only took half a year to complete. However, the subsequent infrastructure construction on the island is the most difficult, because almost all construction materials need to be transported from the mainland by ship. There is no underground drinking water source here. The large amount of fresh water required for construction and life requires to be replenished by ships, so the construction project on Meiji Island is huge.
Since the second half of 2015, Meiji Island Airport has also begun to build. In less than a year, the Meiji Island Airport with a 2,660-meter long runway was successfully built. There are also multiple hangars next to it. is a medium-sized airport with a high-standard size. Once the war breaks out, large-scale fighter jets can be taken off and landed on Meiji Island, so Meiji Island is also hailed by many people as a "unsinkable aircraft carrier."
Meiji Island Airport successfully tested in 2016.
July 12, 2016, this day was the day when the so-called South China Sea arbitration case was announced. The Chinese government requisitioned a Cessna CE-680 aircraft from the China Civil Aviation Flight Calibration Center and successfully implemented a verification flight to the new Meiji Reef Airport. On July 13, 2016, an China Southern Airlines passenger plane taking off from Haikou Meilan International Airport, after nearly 2 hours of flight, landed smoothly at the new Meiji Reef Airport and returned to Haikou in the afternoon of the same day, and the test flight was successful.
Meiji Island has important strategic significance
Meiji Island is 1,130 kilometers away from Sanya and only 240 kilometers away from the Philippines. There is also a US military base next to it. Therefore, Meiji Island is the closest island and reef to the Philippines and the farthest from the motherland. It is also an irreplaceable forward base. can build a large triangle with the three artificial islands of Yongshu Reef and Zhubi Reef. Couple with the surrounding Chigua Reef, Nanxun Reef, Dongmen Reef , etc., to form a rock-solid defense system, which is of extremely important strategic significance.
What does Meiji Island look like now?
Meiji Island took nearly 8 years to build and form today's scale. Looking down from the air, Meiji Island is like a beautiful coastal city. The island is lush and verdant, with several kilometers of windbreak belts surrounding the island. The once deserted islands and reefs have become tree-shaded sea gardens.
The buildings on the island are also quite distinctive, with red tiles and white walls, beautiful and elegant, and the island's infrastructure is complete. There are various sports facilities such as hospitals, cinemas, sports fields and open-air swimming pools. It also achieves full coverage of 4G network, which can ensure the work and life of tens of thousands of people.
Meiji Reef is far away from the mainland, with transparent air and clean sea water. The temperature is around 27 degrees Celsius all year round, with a temperature difference of only 2 degrees Celsius. It has unparalleled tropical island scenery. According to the long-term plan, the island's lagoon has reserved an area for future development of tourism and diving. I believe that in the near future, domestic tourists will no longer have to go to Maldives for vacation, but come to this small island with three times larger than Male, the capital of Maldives, and enjoy a comfortable vacation life.
Welcome to follow the monsoon in Muztag, let's see the world together.
In 2007, typhoon Haibeth attacked Meiji Reef, causing 12 fishermen to fall into the sea and 9 people to die, which also prompted the construction of Meiji Reef to begin to accelerate. In 2012, Meiji Reef established the Meiji Village Committee of Nansha District, Sansha City, and began to manage Meiji Reef fishery production in the form of grassroots organizations. On February 18, 2013, Meiji Reef was officially converted from a fishery administration department to a subsidiary of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and the reef guards were refreshed.
Starting from January 2015, my country began to build land on Meiji Reef blowing sand and reclamation . What is sand and reclamation ?
Sand-blowing and filling means firstly circle the place to be filled with a sandbag, and then use a high-power pump with a long pipe carried by the sand digging boat to blow the sand from the seabed outside the circle and the seawater into the target circle. The seawater flows out of the circle, and the sand stays in the circle, and gradually fills the land, and then use the tamper to compact the loosening of the soil.
China's current blowing and filling technology has reached the world's advanced level. Among them, the Tianjing dredger ranks first in Asia. The long pipes it carries can blow sand and water to a place 6 kilometers away.
Meiji Reef has become Meiji Island
Meiji Reef's sand-blowing and sea reclamation project was announced to be completed in just over half a year, and finally formed .66 square kilometers of land area . This area exceeds that of the United States, the most important naval base in Pacific . built a 25.7-kilometer concrete shore protection along the main island. Meiji Reef stretches for 13 kilometers and is extraordinary, becoming the largest artificial island in the South China Sea. Meiji Reef has since become Meiji Island.
Maybe someone will ask, will sand and sea reclamation have an impact on marine ecology?
The sand-blowing and sea reclamation project of Meiji Reef uses natural simulation method, that is, it imitates the natural process of wind and waves blowing and transporting coral sand and gravel in the ocean, and then gradually evolves into a maritime oasis. Therefore, the impact on the ecological environment of coral reefs is local and temporary, and can be restored.
From the implementation of the Meiji Reef land reclamation project, it is relatively simple to fill, and it only took half a year to complete. However, the subsequent infrastructure construction on the island is the most difficult, because almost all construction materials need to be transported from the mainland by ship. There is no underground drinking water source here. The large amount of fresh water required for construction and life requires to be replenished by ships, so the construction project on Meiji Island is huge.
Since the second half of 2015, Meiji Island Airport has also begun to build. In less than a year, the Meiji Island Airport with a 2,660-meter long runway was successfully built. There are also multiple hangars next to it. is a medium-sized airport with a high-standard size. Once the war breaks out, large-scale fighter jets can be taken off and landed on Meiji Island, so Meiji Island is also hailed by many people as a "unsinkable aircraft carrier."
Meiji Island Airport successfully tested in 2016.
July 12, 2016, this day was the day when the so-called South China Sea arbitration case was announced. The Chinese government requisitioned a Cessna CE-680 aircraft from the China Civil Aviation Flight Calibration Center and successfully implemented a verification flight to the new Meiji Reef Airport. On July 13, 2016, an China Southern Airlines passenger plane taking off from Haikou Meilan International Airport, after nearly 2 hours of flight, landed smoothly at the new Meiji Reef Airport and returned to Haikou in the afternoon of the same day, and the test flight was successful.
Meiji Island has important strategic significance
Meiji Island is 1,130 kilometers away from Sanya and only 240 kilometers away from the Philippines. There is also a US military base next to it. Therefore, Meiji Island is the closest island and reef to the Philippines and the farthest from the motherland. It is also an irreplaceable forward base. can build a large triangle with the three artificial islands of Yongshu Reef and Zhubi Reef. Couple with the surrounding Chigua Reef, Nanxun Reef, Dongmen Reef , etc., to form a rock-solid defense system, which is of extremely important strategic significance.
What does Meiji Island look like now?
Meiji Island took nearly 8 years to build and form today's scale. Looking down from the air, Meiji Island is like a beautiful coastal city. The island is lush and verdant, with several kilometers of windbreak belts surrounding the island. The once deserted islands and reefs have become tree-shaded sea gardens.
The buildings on the island are also quite distinctive, with red tiles and white walls, beautiful and elegant, and the island's infrastructure is complete. There are various sports facilities such as hospitals, cinemas, sports fields and open-air swimming pools. It also achieves full coverage of 4G network, which can ensure the work and life of tens of thousands of people.
Meiji Reef is far away from the mainland, with transparent air and clean sea water. The temperature is around 27 degrees Celsius all year round, with a temperature difference of only 2 degrees Celsius. It has unparalleled tropical island scenery. According to the long-term plan, the island's lagoon has reserved an area for future development of tourism and diving. I believe that in the near future, domestic tourists will no longer have to go to Maldives for vacation, but come to this small island with three times larger than Male, the capital of Maldives, and enjoy a comfortable vacation life.
Welcome to follow the monsoon in Muztag, let's see the world together.
