Xinhua and Staff Reporter From Want ChinaTimes

China’s Ministry of Transport held a completion ceremony for the construction of the Huayang and Chigua Lighthouses on Huayang Reef, built on disputed Nansha (Spratly) island territory. The ceremony has marked the start of the operation of the two lighthouses.

The two lighthouses, as the first civil aids to navigation in Nansha waters, will greatly improve navigational conditions and reduce navigational risks and accidents by providing route guidance, safety information and emergency rescue and other public services to passing vessels, according to an official government statement.

Ground-breaking ceremonies were initially held on May 26th for the 50-meter-high cylindrical Huayang and cone-cylindrical Chigua Lighthouses. Both lighthouses are built with reinforced concrete structures, a light range of 22 nautical miles and a glowing cycle of 8 seconds.

The different parts of their 4.5-meter lanterns, according to different functional requirements, are made of bronze, steel and alloy steel respectively, and protected by zinc coating and anti-corrosion paint.

The South China Sea is an important maritime lane of communication connecting China and the rest of the world as well as a critical maritime corridor linking the Pacific and Indian Oceans. This, and the rich resources sitting underneath the ocean floor, are the primary reasons that China has accelerated the development of military and civilian structures in these disputed waters, as China’s maritime neighbors argue.

These structures will reinforce China’s claims to these waters, which extend across the bulk of the South China Sea and compete with territorial assertions made by as many as five other countries. As well, they will undoubtedly maintain or increase tensions with China’s neighbors.

The severe shortage in aids to navigation and in maritime emergency and oil-spill response forces and facilities in the South China Sea has immensely hindered navigation safety and economic and social development in the region, according to China’s official statement.

The construction and functioning of Huayang and Chigua Lighthouses marks a good start for the development of civil aids to navigation in the South China Sea.

The Ministry of Transport of China plans to continue the construction of facilities for “navigational aids, emergency response and life rescue” in the South China Sea, so as to provide regional countries and all passing vessels with navigation services, aiming at forging a safety chain and network in the region, according to the statement.

IMAGE: Huayang Lighthouse. (Photo/Xinhua)