China has approved a development project that is likely to inflame territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Southernmost Hainan Province wants to build a supply dock over more than 823 acres of water off Jinqing island, part of the Paracel chain. Vietnam claims the Paracels as its territory and has protested China’s tourism plans there. The Paracels and other territory in the South China Sea are claimed variously by China, Vietnam and four other nations for their potential oil and gas deposits, rich fishing grounds and proximity to busy commercial sea lanes.—AP
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