Vietnam island building in Spratlys may soon surpass China’s, report says
Washington (Reuters) -Vietnam has significantly expanded the construction of island construction works in areas claimed in the South China Sea in the chain of Spratly Islands, and will match and overcome the scale of such activities by China, a US thought tank, a thought -breaking tank on Friday.
The latest satellite images have shown that Washington’s report of the Strategic and International Research Center has expanded to eight unprecedented features since the beginning of this year, Vietnam has previously started in 2021 with a breeding tour that began in 2021.
The report from the CSIS from the Asian Maritime Transparency Initiative showed that images were doing screening and storage space work at Vietnam’s Alison Reef, Collins Reef, East Reef, Landsdowne Reef and Petley reefs.
The study meant that all of the occupied rocks in the Spratly Islands chain and the low tidal height were expanded to include the artificial land that the majority only hosted the isolated Pillbox structures four years ago.
The report stated that the new expansion started in three features that contain medium -sized artificial islands created in previous screening tours: Amboyna Cay, Grierson Reef and West Reef.
“As of March 2025, Vietnam had created about 70% artificial land as China had in Spratlys.” He said. “These eight new features of the breeding allows Vietnam to match and possibly overcome Beijing with the scale of the island construction.”
Despite the overlapping allegations of China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, it claims almost the entire South China Sea. Beijing carried out comprehensive island -making studies met by the United States and its allies and partners.
The CSIS report, images, ammunition storage containers, including infrastructure, Barque Canada Reef, Discovery Great Reef, Ladd Reef, Namyit Island, Pearson Reef, Sand Cay and Tennement Reef, such as the completion of the destruction of the destruction of the demanded to appear to be seen.
He said that the location of new buildings and ammunition warehouses prevents the possibility of full lengths in some of the longer features, and that the only person built to participate in the existing air track of a runway in Barque Canada Spratly Island did not respond immediately to the CSIS report.
In February, China said Vietnam was against construction activities in Barque Canada Reef and that it was the Chinese region.
In 2016, the Permanent Arbitration Court in The Hague decided that China’s allegations of South China Sea were not supported by international law.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
