A senior Chinese army officer has emphasized the importance of land reclamation as legitimate means of self-defense during the three-day Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore. 

Speaking at the security forum, Senior Colonel Zhou Bo said "We, in China – in spite of our claim that the islands and the adjacent waters are Chinese territorial water and territory – we never have threatened to use force against anybody. So I would argue that China’s land reclamation is the only way for China to have its own legitimate self-defense."

According to an op-ed by Colonel Zhou in China Daily, the Chinese military has attended all meetings on maritime security cooperation under the ASEAN Regional Forum and ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus its Eight Dialogue Partners. He added that Beijing is ready to explore the possibility of setting up a China-ASEAN defense communication mechanism, with the aim of avoiding conflict in the South China Sea area.