China opens movie theater on disputed South China Sea island

BEIJING — China has opened a state-of-the-art movie theater on disputed Woody Island in the South China Sea’s Paracel group in an effort to improve quality of life for the roughly 200 civilians and military personnel on the tiny landmass.

The Yinlong Cinema that opened Saturday is China’s southernmost permanent standing movie house, according to Chinese media reports. It’s the latest in a series of measures aimed at establishing a more concrete presence in the South China Sea, which China claims virtually in its entirety.

The chairman of the Hainan Media Group, Gu Shaoqing, was quoted in media reports as saying the Yinlong, or “Silver Dragon,” would show at least one feature daily.

“In this way, island residents can enjoy the same cinema service enjoyed by people in other parts of China,” Gu was quoted as saying.

The theater can show movies in 3-D and its equipment is portable, allowing it to be transported to other nearby islands as needed.

Taiwan and Vietnam also claim the 2.6-square kilometer (1-square mile) island, known as Yongxingdao in Chinese, the largest in the Paracel group, which lies to the north of the even more hotly contested Spratly chain.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Stethem sailed within 12 nautical miles (32 kilometers) of Triton Island in the Paracel Group in an operation affirming the right to passage and challenging what the U.S. considers China’s excessive territorial claims in the area. China accused the U.S. of trespassing in its territorial waters and sent ships to intercept the destroyer.