Vanuatu cyclone: First aid reaches islands ravaged by Pam
Tropical Cyclone Pam, a monster storm in the South Pacific, is thrashing the capital island of Vanuatu in the dead of night, in what has turned out to be the nightmare scenario for the tiny...

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Vanuatu cyclone: First aid reaches islands ravaged by Pam - Video

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Powerful Cyclone Pam Leaves Trail Of Destruction in Pacific #39;s Vanuatu
Powerful Cyclone Pam Leaves Trail Of Destruction in Pacific #39;s Vanuatu Powerful Cyclone Pam Leaves Trail Of Destruction in Pacific #39;s Vanuatu Powerful Cyclone Pam Leaves Trail Of Destruction...

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Powerful Cyclone Pam Leaves Trail Of Destruction in Pacific's Vanuatu - Video

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As if there aren't enough territorial disputes the world over, China is literally manufacturing a new one in the South China Sea by transforming a series of lonely reefs into small islands.

Where nautical charts once identified bumps in the sea as Mischief Reef, Gaven Reef and others, China is dredging massive amounts of sand to create artificial islands. Over the past year or so, at least five of these new land masses have popped up in the chain of ocean specks and dots known as the Spratly Islands.

An example: Johnson South Reef, formerly a concrete platform atop submerged rock, now appears via satellite photos to be a sandy island hopping with Chinese construction activity. There's speculation China is building an airstrip.

This land grab on water has the attention of the United States because it raises new concerns about China's intentions as a rising Pacific power.

There is nothing new about competing territorial claims over the Spratlys. But only China claims the near entirety of the South China Sea. And only China is audacious enough to try to bolster that claim by building islands, and assigning military forces to protect them.

China's neighbors are not happy. Five other governments have claims on all or some of the Spratlys: the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. None recognizes China's contention that it controls of the South China Sea. The U.S., with a strong interest in defending international law and protecting open sea lanes, also rejects China's claims.

A U.S. official told The Wall Street Journal that China's actions are "destabilizing." James Hardy of Jane's Defence Weekly went further, telling the Journal: "We can see that this is a methodical, well-planned campaign to create a chain of air- and sea-capable fortresses across the center of the Spratly Islands chain."

The question is what to do. This is a conflict that could turn volatile. And there's probably no way to untangle all the competing ownership claims over every atoll and islet. But there may be a way to draw China and the others toward a compromise that keeps the peace. A shooting war is not an option.

If you look at a map of the South China Sea, you might wonder why Beijing is involved. Most of the Spratlys are between the Philippines and Vietnam. China's nearest shoreline is 500 miles away. Its claim is based on the assertion that Chinese navigators discovered the islands and that Chinese fishermen have plied those seas for many centuries.

There's reason to covet the area. It's still a rich fishing ground, and there are likely significant oil and gas reserves below. Mostly, though, claiming the islands means expanding territorial control, and for China that means projecting sea power. Vietnam and China battled over Johnson South Reef in 1988. China won; about 70 Vietnamese sailors died. "When you get to the heart of it, it's about nationalism," Gregory Poling, a Southeast Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, tells us.

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With the U.S. distracted, China builds 'The Mischief Islands'

At least eight people have been killed after one of the most powerful cyclones to hit the Pacific Ocean tore through the islands of Vanuatu early Saturday, multiple news outlets reported.

Packing winds up to 270 kilometers (168 miles) per hour, Cyclone Pam blew down or destroyed homes and cut off power, water, and communication lines, especially on the archipelagos outer islands, The Associated Press reported.

As of Saturday, eight have been reported dead, but aid workers have said it could take weeks before the storms impact is fully evaluated.

"It felt like the world was going to end," Alice Clements, a spokeswoman for the United Nations Childrens Fund, told Reuters from Vanuatu. It's like a bomb has gone off in the center of the town.

Scientists have said its nearly impossible to attribute any single weather event to climate change, according to The Associated Press. Still, the Category 5 cyclone the worst to hit the archipelago since Cyclone Uma left 5,000 people homeless and one man dead in 1987 has once more raised concerns about the readiness of Pacific island nations to respond to severe weather events exacerbated by rising temperatures and sea levels.

The Pacific region has been one of the areas most affected by changes in global temperatures in recent years. In 2013, countries in the Pacific Basin recorded the highest increases in sea levels in the world, according to a report by The Christian Science Monitor, based on data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Last September, the president of the Marshall Islands, a tiny archipelago near the equator, called on world leaders to act on climate change as the countrys atolls become increasingly unlivable due to rising seas, severe floods, sudden storms, and droughts, The Guardian reported.

The Pacific is fighting for its survival, President Christopher Loek said. Climate change has already arrived."

Countries in and around the Pacific, including China, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and Australia, have also experienced the most tropical cyclone strikes since 1970, the same Monitor report found.

Of the five typhoons to affect the most number of people in the Philippines, four occurred within the last 10 years, according to Philippine news outlet Rappler. The worst was also the most recent: Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the archipelago in late 2013, affected more than 16 million people, including 6,000 dead. The estimated cost of damage was about $2 billion, Rappler reported.

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Cyclone Pam and climate change: Are the Pacific Islands ready?

March 14, 2015: In this photo provided by non-governmental organization 350.org, debris is scattered over a building in Port Vila, Vanuatu(AP)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand Officials struggled Sunday to determine the scale of the devastation wrought by a monstrous cyclone that tore through the tiny South Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu, with death counts varying in the single digits but expected to rise once communications are restored with outlying islands.

Cyclone Pam tore through Vanuatu early Saturday, packing winds of 168 miles per hour, and leaving a trail of destruction and unconfirmed reports of dozens of deaths.

Two people were confirmed dead in the capital, Port Vila, with another 20 injured there, said Paolo Malatu, coordinator for the National Disaster Management Office. Earlier, Chloe Morrison, a World Vision emergency communications officer, said Vanuatu's disaster response office told her agency that at least eight people died. She had also heard reports of entire villages being destroyed in more remote areas.

The confusion over the death toll is due largely to a near-total communications blackout across the country. With power lines and phone circuits down, officials in the capital had no way of knowing what the scope of the damage was on the outer islands, where the storm scored a direct hit.

"We haven't been able to communicate outside Port Vila," Malatu said. "At this point, the damage is severe and we haven't had figures of how many houses destroyed. ... It's really bad, it's really bad."

Officials are planning to head to the outer islands Monday in helicopters, small planes and military aircraft to get a better sense of the destruction, Malatu said.

Telephone networks are notoriously spotty in South Pacific island nations such as Vanuatu, particularly in the aftermath of storms. It often takes days before networks can be restored, making it incredibly difficult for officials to quickly analyze the breadth of devastation following natural disasters.

Vanuatu's government has declared a nationwide state of emergency, and Australia and New Zealand have sent in relief supplies. Port Vila's airport was damaged by the storm and closed for commercial flights, but the first delivery of supplies arrived Sunday from the Red Cross, Malatu said.

"People are really upset and it's really hard, just because for the last couple of years, we haven't received a really big cyclone like this one," said Isso Nihmei, Vanuatu coordinator for the environmental and crisis response group 350. "Most people right now, they are really homeless."

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Historic cyclone batters small islands in Pacific - VIDEO: Dozens feared dead after storm

At least eight people have been killed after one of the most powerful cyclones to hit the Pacific Ocean tore through the islands of Vanuatu early Saturday, multiple news outlets reported.

Packing winds up to 270 kilometers (168 miles) per hour, Cyclone Pam blew down or destroyed homes and cut off power, water, and communication lines, especially on the archipelagos outer islands, The Associated Press reported.

As of Saturday, eight have been reported dead, but aid workers have said it could take weeks before the storms impact is fully evaluated.

"It felt like the world was going to end," Alice Clements, a spokeswoman for the United Nations Childrens Fund, told Reuters from Vanuatu. It's like a bomb has gone off in the center of the town.

Scientists have said its nearly impossible to attribute any single weather event to climate change, according to The Associated Press. Still, the Category 5 cyclone the worst to hit the archipelago since Cyclone Uma left 5,000 people homeless and one man dead in 1987 has once more raised concerns about the readiness of Pacific island nations to respond to severe weather events exacerbated by rising temperatures and sea levels.

The Pacific region has been one of the areas most affected by changes in global temperatures in recent years. In 2013, countries in the Pacific Basin recorded the highest increases in sea levels in the world, according to a report by The Christian Science Monitor, based on data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Last September, the president of the Marshall Islands, a tiny archipelago near the equator, called on world leaders to act on climate change as the countrys atolls become increasingly unlivable due to rising seas, severe floods, sudden storms, and droughts, The Guardian reported.

The Pacific is fighting for its survival, President Christopher Loek said. Climate change has already arrived."

Countries in and around the Pacific, including China, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and Australia, have also experienced the most tropical cyclone strikes since 1970, the same Monitor report found.

Of the five typhoons to affect the most number of people in the Philippines, four occurred within the last 10 years, according to Philippine news outlet Rappler. The worst was also the most recent: Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the archipelago in late 2013, affected more than 16 million people, including 6,000 dead. The estimated cost of damage was about $2 billion, Rappler reported.

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Cyclone Pam and climate change: Are the Pacific Islands ready? (+video)