Duterte Pulls a 180: China to Build Fake Islands Right Off Philippines Coast

‘In a move signaling a point of no return in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent pivot to China, it was reported Tuesday the Philippines have granted a state-owned Chinese infrastructure group the right to build artificial islands in the South China Sea — they very practice Duterte’s predecessor had sought to restrict via U.N. intervention.
“China Communication Construction Company (CCCC), a State-owned infrastructure group, recently signed a contract with the Philippines’ Mega Harbour Port and Development Inc. to conduct a 208-hectare land reclamation project in Davao’s harbour,” wrote China’s state-run People’s Daily.
To be built just off the Philippines’ southern coast by “moving sediment from the seafloor to a reef,” the four islands“will be used for government offices, businesses, residences, ports and industrial land.”’
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