China will complete a series of controversial land reclamation projects in the South China Sea “soon”، the foreign ministry says.
The US and countries with competing claims in the area maintain that China is creating artificial islands to use as military bases.
The ministry says they are for defence، but also maritime search and rescue، disaster relief and research.
China claims most of the South China Sea.
Last year، China increased its land reclamation activity prompting the US in May to call for an “immediate and lasting halt” to land reclamation in disputed areas of the South China Sea.
There has also been a spike in tensions between the US military and Chinese navy near the Spratlys in recent weeks.
Source: BBC