By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — After nearly a decade of relative pause, China has resumed large-scale island-building in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea), with new construction at Antelope Reef in the Paracel Islands poised to become one of Beijing’s largest artificial outposts in the disputed waters.
Satellite analysis by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies shows Antelope Reef, a once-submerged feature, is being rapidly transformed through dredging and landfill. The reclaimed area already spans roughly 1,490 acres — about the same size as Mischief Reef in the Spratlys, currently China’s largest outpost at 1,504 acres.
CSIS said the scale suggests potential for a runway capable of supporting military aircraft, radar systems, and hardened infrastructure. Early works focus on logistics: berthing facilities, access for construction vessels, and a stable platform rather than overt military installations.
Antelope Reef sits about 300 km from Sanya Port in Hainan and 400 km from Da Nang, Vietnam. If developed into a full military facility, it would extend China’s sensing and air-naval reach across the northern South China Sea.
Vietnam’s foreign ministry has protested, saying any foreign activities in the Paracels without Vietnamese permission are illegal. Chinese officials call the Paracels “inherent territory” and say construction aims to “improve living and working conditions” and grow the local economy.
During the mid-2010s, China turned reefs into artificial islands with runways, ports, and military facilities. The “Big Three” — Subi, Mischief, and Fiery Cross reefs — each house 3-km runways, missile emplacements, and extensive storage.
Antelope Reef marks the first significant artificial island-building China has undertaken in the South China Sea since 2017. Analysts say the move signals Beijing won’t be “outdone” as Vietnam and the Philippines also expand outposts.
A 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration effectively invalidated China’s “nine-dash line” claim to most of the South China Sea. There has been no international ruling on Paracel sovereignty.
Beijing says it has built on more than 11,000 islands it claims, with facilities that let Chinese law enforcement, naval, and militia vessels patrol up to 1,000 nautical miles from the coast.
The Philippines, U.S., and partner nations launched military drills this week across the Philippine archipelago, projecting a multinational front in a waterway that carries over $3 trillion in annual trade. Taiwan officials also visited Itu Aba in the Spratlys, which has a runway and new wharf for 4,000-ton patrol ships.
“Beijing seems to have hit a point of diminishing returns,” said Gregory Poling of CSIS. “It has not succeeded in stopping a single Southeast Asian energy project, resupply or construction mission… in at least four years”.
ia/xf
