China Tries to Build Sand Bases, Again

Peter Zeihan 3 min

The new larger island will sink bigger and crack bigger than previous attempts. The outcome is not worrisome but anticipated as a delightful disaster when military plans based on these flawed islands are tested.

Chapters

  1. 0:00

    China's Return to Sand Base Construction

    The video discusses China's recent decision to resume building artificial islands in the South China Sea after a seven-year hiatus, noting that previous attempts failed due to structural instability.

  2. 0:46

    The Technical Flaws of Sand Islands

    It explains that dredging sand and coral to build islands creates unstable structures that inevitably sink or crack within a few years, rendering runways and hangars useless. The resumption of this failed strategy follows the removal of advisors who previously warned the leader that the plan was a waste of money.

  3. 2:00

    Expectations for Future Failure

    The new, larger island will suffer even greater structural failure than previous attempts, sinking bigger and cracking more severely. The outcome is not worrisome but anticipated as a delightful disaster when military plans based on these flawed islands are tested.

Key points

  • 0:00

    China has resumed building a larger artificial island in the Paracels after stopping for seven years.

  • 0:46

    Previous sand-based structures settled and became useless within 48 months to five years.

  • 0:46

    Runways on the old islands cracked and planes could no longer land on them.

  • 0:46

    Reinforced hangars on those islands started to crack open within a few years.

  • 0:46

    China stopped the project seven years ago after losing advisors who warned it was a stupid plan.

  • 0:46

    Those removed advisors were willing to tell the leader that the plan was wasting a lot of money.

  • 2:00

    The new larger island will sink bigger and crack bigger than the previous smaller ones.

  • 2:00

    The outcome is anticipated as a delightful disaster when military plans based on this are tested.

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