Why China's Artificial Islands are Now Sinking

In 2019, US media accused China of “bullying” in the South China Sea due to its giant terraforming operations to create artificial islands. One of the major consequences of these islands being built up, according to the press, is the possibility of an all-out war with the USA. That’s not how China explains things, nor does it admit things could presently be going wrong with those islands.
As you’ll see in this video today, China might have a major problem on its hands which could turn into a supremely expensive catastrophic failure.

The videos are made by the same team that brings you The Infographics Show.

All videos are based on publicly available information unless otherwise noted.

[nijadbahnam]

Who knew creating islands of soft sand with thousands of tonnes of concrete on top in an ocean prone of violent storms was a bad idea ?

[randallminchew]

The British has old maps that says its territory spread throughout the world. We no longer pay any attention to those outdated maps. The Chinese claim those lands because of old maps is ludicrous.

[senatorchinchilla]

These islands are also an environmental disaster. Reefs are usually very biodiverse and a great habitat for fish and sea critters, and they basically get nuked.

[eliadi]

As an environmental scientist, this breaks my heart. Those ecosystem that's been destroyed and the number of species that live there just gone, for the sake of what?

[Jazzmaster]

So if Italy should do the same, Italy should claim all the countries in Central Europe and their coast lines as their territory because they ruled these countries back in in the Roman Empire.

[Enjoymentboy]

China reminds me of that guy who was the football star in high school and who is stuck reliving his old glory days unable to move into the present and evolve. All he can think about and talk about is what he USED to have and how great things USED to be and he firmly believes that this entitles him to something special today.

[MRDPG]

All I can say is they are not sinking fast enough!

[piwi]

A wise man builds his house on the rock, a fool builds on sand. 😂

[whenindoubtgohiking]

Chinas ability to make obvious lies directly to other countries face, never ceases to amaze me.

[miketan]

I've studied Chinese history as that's part of my culture. China only had a brief period having a ocean going navy. In fact, after the ming dynasty it turned inward

[jarrodmelson]

I’m not a geologist or oceanographer, but I have to think it is hard to make an artificial island that doesn’t require constant, expensive upkeep. If natural processes don’t allow for an island, those processes would dig away at anything set against them, I would think.

[tgrrr]

The 1434 Edict of Haijin came right after a series of large Chinese naval expeditions under the command of the great Chinese admiral Zheng He. Six of these expeditions took place between 1405-1424, by order of Emperor Yonglo (also known as Zhu Di). In 1430, his successor, Emperor Xuando, ordered what was to be Zheng He’s last voyage which lasted to about 1433. After that the Chinese empire claimed no further use for any lands outside of China, therefore ceding China's right to ANYTHING outside of China.

[rex]

The term "International Law" in regards to China reminds me of the saying "Any law without a penalty is merely a suggestion".

[tthompson]

Actually the majority of countries wouldn't do what China is doing because it breaks international agreements and norms, which China feels entitled to ignore or enforce at will.

[itsamindgame]

The problem with this "Europe backwater, China highly civilized" is taking two entire continental regions that were actually quite comparable and comparing the worst of one with the best of the other. Both had abject poverty and a rich and decadent ruling class.

[romieiv]

Any of these islands could be taken out with a "Time on Target" attack with Tomahawk TLAM's, which, is well within the means of any US attack submarine. I think they are used as early warning beacons, listening posts, trigger points and prestige issues.

[TexasEngineer]

I find it interesting that the root cause of the settlement was not mentioned. The root cause is not the sand that they brought in, it is the weight of the sand on the underlying soils. The underlying soils now have an overburden stress from the sand. These soils will consolidate due to the weight and settle because of the water being driven out. This process happens over a depth equal to the width of the island and the amount of settlement is a percentage of of the width. These are large islands and will have large settlement that can happen over decades as the water is released from the underlying soils. This water release might be seen as sand boils or misinterpreted as liquidfaction. Apparently the Chinese did not include this process in their engineering coursework for geotechnial engineeging 101. How much will is settle? Depends on how deep and how wide they filled and the type of underlying soils, rock, clays, sands or silts and the their strength. These soils parameters are not mentioned in the video and are very critical in the understanding on the global process.

[NotSureNotSureNotSure]

China’s period of humiliation began when the CCP was formed. It’s humiliation continues to this day.

[saldarriagafam]

It’s so sad that a country with such rich culture was brought down to where it is now due to greed. We should all learn from this and see how we can make our own countries better. Unfortunately the Chinese government doesn’t give a crap about the environment, their citizens, or ethics. Thanks for making these videos. I really enjoy them.😊

[gehtdianschasau]

I once build a sandcastle about 25 years ago and it still exists. I mean the sand does, its virtually indestructible, the castle didnt last long, because the sand didn't want to stick together, especially with the constant waves. It is a terrible material for buildings and basements. Every kid knows that, Winnie didn't have sand to play, when he was a child, it seems.He is making up for it now, big time, what will he find out?