Vietnam adds hundreds of hectares in South China Sea island-building effort
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A satellite image provided by earth-observation company Vantor shows Antelope Reef in disputed waters off the coast of Vietnam in April 2026.
PHOTO: VANTOR VIA NYTIMES
WASHINGTON – Vietnam has expanded its island building in the South China Sea’s disputed Spratly archipelago in the past year, adding 216.1ha of land, and has also begun to construct specialised infrastructure there, a US think-tank reported.
The report on May 8 by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies added the following details:
- The new dredging across the Spratlys brings the total area of artificial land reclaimed by Vietnam in the archipelago to about 1,121ha.
- After finishing landfill operations at Barque Canada Reef – which is now Vietnam’s largest base in the islands – in spring 2025, Hanoi began smaller expansions at several new features in the second half of 2025.
- The expansion has caused additional environmental damage.
- Vietnam’s total reef destruction, including reefs covered by landfill and areas dredged to create channels and harbours, now stands at roughly 1,667ha.
- Vietnam’s island-building activities in the Spratlys had appeared to be catching up to China’s in early 2025, but new Chinese reclamation activities at Antelope Reef have widened the gap, with China’s total figures now at about 2,209ha of artificial land and 2,518ha of reef destruction.
- Vietnam has made notable infrastructure developments on larger, more developed reefs, with an additional three harbours taking shape at Grierson Reef, Petley Reef and South Reef.
- The new work brings the total number of harbours Vietnam has in the archipelago to 15, with 11 of them created since 2021. Initial construction of another likely harbour can already be seen at Lansdowne Reef.
Vietnam’s Washington embassy did not immediately respond to request for comment.
In 2025, China said it opposes Vietnam’s construction activities at Barque Canada Reef, calling it Chinese territory.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, despite overlapping claims by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. REUTERS
