Concerning the use of the possessive form in this context

Question

In this newspaper article, just under the "China is reluctant to get too involved" heading, the possessive form has been used thus:

Just a few minutes’ walk away from the Legislative Council building, the People’s Liberation Army, China’s military, has an outpost with thousands of combat-ready soldiers ready to do Beijing’s bidding.

How can minutes even possess a walk? shouldn't it be "Just a few minutes walk away..." where few minutes only qualify the walk instead of possessing it?

Answer 1

The possessive apostrophe is correct in this case; "A few minutes' walk." See here, for example: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/writing/apostrophe or here: http://random-idea-english.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-ten-minute-walk-ten-minutes-walk.html

Although it sounds odd to think of the walk as belonging to the minutes, it's a way of saying "of" - "A walk of a few minutes."