China opens hotpot restaurant on Woody Island amid Beijing's South China Sea aggression

China has opened a hotpot restaurant on Woody Island, a disputed island in the South China Sea, as part of its ongoing effort to assert its claims in the region. The Paracels archipelago, which includes Woody Island, is the subject of competing territorial claims by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Beijing has claimed the majority of the waterway, including the Paracels, using a historical "nine-dash line" as justification for its actions. Woody Island, also known as Yongxing in China, is the largest of the approximately 30 islands that make up the Paracels, as per a report from South China Morning Post.

The restaurant, called Kuanzhai Xiangzi, has a seating capacity of 120 and opened for business last week, according to the Sansha city government, which administers the Paracel island chain. The restaurant's opening has been welcomed by some on the island, with one logistics company manager saying it would "enrich the material and cultural life of the military, police and people on the island."

In 2012, the city of Sansha was home to just 1,000 civilians

In 2012, when China established the city of Sansha on Woody Island to assert its claims to the resource-rich waters of the Paracels archipelago, the island was home to about 1,000 civilians. Since then, China upgraded facilities for the city's growing population, which has expanded to about 2,300 by 2020, not including military personnel.

A civil-military airport was launched on the island in 2014, and the Yongxing School opened in 2015 to provide education to the children of local fishermen and soldiers. In addition, a court, a cinema, banks, hospitals, post offices, a stadium, and a coffee shop have been set up in Sansha. These developments are part of China's strategy to consolidate its claims in the South China Sea, where it has territorial disputes with most Southeast Asian neighbors, using both hard and soft approaches.

A look at the dispute

The Paracel Islands, also known as Xisha in Chinese, are a group of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea, with an area of about 15,000 square kilometers. The islands are located between Vietnam and China, and both countries claim sovereignty over them.

The Paracel Islands have been a source of dispute between China and Vietnam for several decades. In the 20th century, China occupied the islands by force, resulting in the deaths of dozens of Vietnamese soldiers. Since then, Vietnam has protested against China's presence in the islands and has repeatedly asserted its claims to the islands, while China maintains that it has historical sovereignty over the area.

In addition to Vietnam and China, Taiwan also claims sovereignty over the Paracel Islands. The dispute over the Paracel Islands has been a source of tension between China and its neighboring countries. The Paracel Islands are strategically significant due to their location in the South China Sea, a major shipping lane for global commerce. The area is also believed to contain significant oil and gas reserves, adding an economic dimension to the territorial dispute.