China has reportedly begun constructing a massive floating artificial island designed to withstand a nuclear strike, a project that signals a major escalation in the global race for maritime power. Chinese state-linked researchers describe the structure as a new “mega science infrastructure,” underscoring Beijing’s push to expand its strategic capabilities at sea. The 78,000-tonne semi-submersible twin-hull platform is described as the world’s first mobile, self-sustaining artificial island. “We’re racing to complete the design and construction, aiming for operational status by 2028,” Lin Zhongqin, an academician leading the project, was quoted as saying in an interview with Economic Information Daily in April last year. The structure is reported to have a displacement comparable

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