Using the most sophisticated, and largest dredger on the planet, China, in a matter of three years, was able to turn once submerged features in the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea into island fortifications. “Not only China, but also generally there is a growing recognition by regional governments of the pertinent need to scale up efforts to safeguard their maritime rights and interests, not least fisheries,” Bloomberg said, quoting Collin Koh Swee Lean, research fellow at Singapore’s RSIS.