Over the past few months, China has been quietly and quickly building islands in disputed waters off the coast of Vietnam, which will help Beijing maintain control of one of the world’s most important waterways. China claims about 90% of the South China Sea, including portions claimed by several Southeast Asian countries.
Satellite images dating back to November show Chinese dredgers building a crescent-shaped island on the Antelope Reef in the Paracels, a cluster of islands and reefs contested by China, Taiwan and Vietnam.
By April, the edges of the island had been trimmed, and docks, helipads and dirt roads were visible. It was almost twice the size of New York’s Central Park and appeared to be still under construction.
Analysts say that given its size and continued expansion, Antelope Reef has the potential to become one of China’s largest military outposts in the region. These islands typically contain airstrips, radars, electronic warfare facilities, and missile bunkers. The base supports the Chinese Navy and Air Force, helping them operate further from mainland China. China’s coast guard and maritime militia, comprised of thousands of civilian fishing boats, also help assert China’s maritime presence.
The artificial island took shape rapidly.
Analysts tracking China’s island-building activities were surprised to see the new construction because China already has several outposts in disputed waters and has halted most major construction of such artificial islands.
“The strategic logic of it is not very clear,” said Harrison Prétat, associate director and fellow of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “It meant they didn’t need anything else,” he said.
From 2013 to 2017, China built or expanded more than 20 military outposts in the South China Sea capable of housing troops. This includes three large military bases across the Spratly Islands, more than 900 miles from mainland China but less than 300 miles from the Philippine coast, and one in the Paracels. The island-building operation, unprecedented in its scale and speed, has drawn international condemnation and damaged China’s relations with the United States and its Southeast Asian neighbors.
Mr Preta said the latest construction could be a response to Vietnam, which has been reclaiming land and building military facilities on the islands it controls in the Spratly Islands over the past two years.
Perhaps more importantly, compared to his predecessors, President Trump is less focused on curbing China’s militarization of the South China Sea. “I think the bigger question is: Did they think they could get away with that?” Mr. Preta said.
Antelope Reef is now one of the largest islands in the region and is similar in size to the largest outpost on Mischief Reef in the Spratlys.
Vietnam claims ownership of all of the Paracel Islands, which China has controlled since China took over in 1974. Hanoi protested that China’s Antelope construction was “completely illegal and invalid.”
However, China claims that the Paracel Islands are China’s “inherent territory.” Asked about construction on Antelope Reef last month, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said any construction was simply aimed at “improving living and working conditions on the island and growing the local economy.”
