China has established a desalination plant in Sansha city, a prefecture-level city formed in 2012 to administer a number of islands and atolls including those claimed by Beijing’s maritime neighbours in the area.
A 1,000-tonne-a-day desalination plant was put into use on Yongxing Island of Sansha City, to meet the fresh water need of people on the island.
The new facility is capable of treating 1,000 tonnes of seawater per day and 700 tonnes of processed water is directly drinkable.
Currently, the desalination equipment on Yongxing Island can process 1,800 tonnes of seawater per day.
Sansha City was officially established in 2012 to administer the a host of disputed islands, including the Spratly Islands which are a disputed group of 14 islands, islets and more than 100 reefs.
The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan contested Beijing’s claims over the area.