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Australia Raises Alarm Over Possible Chinese Military Build-Up On Spratly Islands
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Defence Minister Kevin Andrews has joined the United States and other nations in opposing China's large-scale land reclamation in the South China Sea.
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Satellite imagery shows at least one former atoll in the contested Spratly Islands is now home to a Chinese harbour and a runway is also under construction.
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Mr Andrews told a security conference in Singapore that Australia was concerned about any military build-up on the artificial islands in the area believed to be home to oil and gas reserves.
He stressed the need for regional cooperation over territorial matters and issued a warning to China about its activities in the region.
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"Australia has made clear its opposition to any coercive or unilateral actions to change the status quo in the South or East China Sea," he said.
"This includes any large-scale land reclamation activity by claimants in the South China Sea, and we are particularly concerned at the prospect of militarisation of artificial structures.
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