Ran across an interesting study from back in 2013: Chinese researchers evaluated the "strategic position" of 131 features in the Spratly Islands. Explicitly proposed improving the "strategic position" of features through artificial construction... (1/)
(2/) Looks like the research received state funding via the 863 Program. And the authors were all affiliated with the Nanjing University Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science and Technology.
(3/) They analyzed a bunch of different factors, ranging from "maritime military deterrence effect" to "navigation ease" to "runway construction length conditions."
(4/) The authors noted that all of the features with the highest "strategic position" scores are occupied by other countries.
(5/) To close this gap and boost the "strategic position" of China's features in the Spratlys, they proposed land reclamation and island building.
China's island building campaign started right around the time this research was published.
(6/) Impossible to say whether this particular study informed China's subsequent activities in the Spratly Islands, but it still offers an interesting look at how researchers working for the Chinese party-state or the PLA may have been evaluating the situation.
(7/) Also, here's the translated title, abstract, and so on included at the end of the article:
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