How China Secretly Built an Island as a Military Base in Disputed Waters
While the world's attention is focused on events in the Persian Gulf, China has effectively annexed territory in a disputed part of the South China Sea, building an artificial island 400 kilometers from Vietnam, writes the Ukrainian service of the BBC.
Satellite image of the Crescent Archipelago, which is part of the disputed Paracel Islands, located in the South China Sea. Photo: Getty Image
Since last October, China has transformed a once deserted sandbar in the South China Sea into an atoll covering 600 hectares. Construction proceeded at an astonishing speed, turning Antelope Reef into an island.
"What is even more shocking is that the world has largely remained silent regarding China's actions," notes Forbes magazine.
According to a journalist from this media outlet, Beijing is waging a "legal war" and practicing combat operations in plain sight of the entire world. Vietnam's first official protest only came in March, more than five months after the dredging began.
Beijing traditionally rejects the accusations. A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the large-scale engineering project "aims to improve living and working conditions on the islands and develop the local economy."
This seems implausible, writes The Economist. According to China's own data, no more than 2,000 of its citizens live on all islands in the South China Sea (not counting thousands of military personnel). Almost all of them were sent there to help Beijing assert its claims to maritime territory.
Instead, Antelope Reef is beginning to strongly resemble a major Chinese military airbase. Satellite images have recorded more than 50 structures on the new facility, along with piers and a section approximately 2700 meters long, suitable for a runway.
By February, 22 dredgers were operating on the island, creating several square kilometers of new land and more than 15 square kilometers of reclaimed territory. According to experts, this will give China a huge advantage in the event of a conflict over Taiwan. Additionally, the new base is located just 300 kilometers from a PRC submarine base, which could allow the Chinese to more effectively block US reconnaissance operations.
Disputed Territory
Antelope Reef is located in the Paracel Islands. China has controlled them since 1974, following their capture from South Vietnam. However, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam all simultaneously claim the reef.
There are varying opinions on whether Antelope Reef is a rock or a reef under international law. But in any case, it is not an island, so it does not grant the right to a territorial sea or an exclusive economic zone.
China is trying to legalize the seizure through its own interpretation of maritime law, which Forbes calls illegal. As the publication notes, according to the UN Convention, the status of an object is determined prior to reclamation, so the creation of an artificial island does not grant new rights.
The world barely reacted to the work that began three years ago. In 2023, a tender for assessment was announced, dredging began in 2025, and active construction started in 2026.
Similar island reclamation by China has already been deemed illegal under the UN Convention. In 2013-2015, China created seven artificial islands in the Spratly Archipelago, violating the rights of its neighbors. In 2016, arbitration ruled that such works destroy coral reefs and contradict China's obligations to protect the marine environment.
Something similar was done by Russia ten years before the annexation of Crimea – reclaiming a dam towards the Ukrainian Tuzla Spit to change the status of the Kerch Strait.