Over the past year and a half,
在过去的一年半当中
Chinese construction crews have been dumping massive,
中国建筑人员在中国南海
amounts of white sand in seven spots in the South China Sea.
用大堆的白沙填出了七块小岛
in territory that China claims as its own.
中国宣称其为自己的领土
When the sand was in place, those spots were then covered in concrete,
沙土填满后 这些陆地被混凝土覆盖
and now China says that at least some of its new islands will soon be ready for use.
现在中国透露有一些岛最近将被投入使用
Why is this such a problem?
那么问题在哪呢
Beijing insists it owns the territory inside the so called Nine Dash-line--
北京坚称拥有被划入九虚线以内的领土主权
a region covering much of the South China Sea.
该区域占据了中国南海的大部分
It's ignored calls to halt construction there
这就是中国为什么不停止施工原因
and that's an issue for five neighboring countries and territories,
现在的问题在于该范围内的5个邻国
including Vietnam and the Philippines,
包括越南和菲律宾
who also claim part of the same body of water.
也声称对这片海域具有领海权
China argues the islands will be used for peaceful purposes,
中国声称这些岛是用于和平目的
maritime search and rescue work and biological research.
开展海洋搜救工作和生物研究
But there's a real concern these islands will become military bases.
但是令人担忧的是这些岛屿是否会成为军事基地
Two already have runways.
已经有两个岛建了跑道
There's a fear China will declare an exclusion zone,
中国是否会在此宣布隔离政策也成为了一大担忧
a bold attempt to control this key maritime region,
以企图海外控制这个主要的军事区域
which could lead to military confrontations.
这很可能会引发军事冲突