In a nutshell, Communist China has decided to expand their claim of waters that possibly have oil and gas reserves not to mention most of the worlds shipping passes through that area.
The United States is somewhat okay with Russia and North Korea, (I personally do not trust N. Korea or Russia) here steps in Communist China to take there place.
There is no logical reason to fortify islands if you were not preparing for military action.
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China says it has landed long-range bombers for the first time on an island in the South China Sea, the latest in a series of maneuvers putting Beijing at odds with its neighbors and Washington over China's growing military presence around disputed islands.
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China has spent much of the past two years fortifying these islands, including placing missiles on the Spratly island chain during naval exercises in April.
This is despite a promise made by President Xi Jinping to then-US President Barack Obama in 2015 that the Chinese government would not be militarizing the artificial islands.
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https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/10/polit...ntl/index.html