China building new artificial  island, possibly biggest in SCS

Beijing has been building a new artificial island among the disputed Paracel Islands, which are also claimed by Vietnam, according to satellite imagery analysis by a US think tank that projected the feature could become China’s largest in the South China Sea.

The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a report last week that new dredging and landfill activity at Antelope Reef in the Beijing-controlled Paracel Islands marks the first significant artificial island-building China has undertaken in the South China Sea since 2017.

Assuming it is developed into a military facility on a scale similar to Beijing’s other large outposts in the sea area, Antelope Reef will extend the reach of China’s sensing capabilities closer to Vietnam’s shores and enable additional capacity for its naval and air assets in the northern South China Sea (SCS), the CSIS report said.

The reef is located approximately 300 kilometers from Sanya Port in southern China’s Hainan Province and some 400 km from Da Nang in central Vietnam.

Small structures, helipad

Beijing began major dredging at Antelope last October, and in recent weeks has begun preliminary construction on some areas of the reef, the think tank said.

The estimated area of reclaimed land for the feature has reached roughly some 6 square kilometers, or 1,490 acres, exceeding Woody Island, which measures around 3.6 sq km (890 acres) and was previously the largest among the Paracel Islands.

If construction proceeds at the pace gleaned from satellite imagery, Antelope could surpass the size of Panganiban (Mischief) Reef in the Spratly Islands—Panhe current largest Chinese outpost in the South China Sea, with a total land area of 6.1 sq km (1,504 acres).

The satellite imagery showed over 50 small structures and a helipad have been built near the lagoon entrance, while a span of over 3,300 meters (11,000 feet) along the feature’s northwestern side has been fashioned with a straight outer edge perfect for an airstrip, the report added.

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‘Growing local economy’

Asked about land reclamation in the Paracel Islands, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Monday, “Necessary construction on our own territory is aimed at improving living and working conditions on the islands and growing the local economy.”

Hu Bo, director of the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative, a Beijing-based think tank, was quoted by Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post as saying the military value of Antelope Reef would be “relatively limited” as Beijing already has a base on Woody Island about 100 km away.

China has constructed runways on Woody Island in the Paracels as well as at Panganiban Reef, Zamora (Subi) Reef and Kagitingan (Fiery Cross) Reef in the Spratlys, another group of disputed isles in the South China Sea.

Beijing asserts sovereignty over nearly the whole of the South China Sea, despite a 2016 international arbitration ruling that invalidated its claim. Chinese vessels have acted aggressively against Philippine ships near disputed shoals in the waters.