Vietnam has rapidly expanded its dredging and reclamation operations in the South China Sea over the past six months, according to a new report.
According to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, the country is “on pace to record a record amount of island construction in 2024.”
The company has announced it has added 692 acres (2.8 square kilometers) of land across 10 locations in the Spratly Islands since November, roughly equal to all of its efforts over the past two years.
Although China and Vietnam have tried to improve relations in recent years, their differing claims in the South China Sea remain a major source of conflict.
The think tank said Vietnam has reclaimed about 2,360 acres of land, roughly half the area claimed by China but almost 10 times the total area secured by Hanoi three years ago.
Between 2013 and 2015, China carried out large-scale land reclamation activities in parts of the South China Sea that it claims as its territory.
After announcing a halt to reclamation work in 2015, the government has continued to build military-grade airfields, ports and other infrastructure on the islands.
China’s claims to this vital waterway overlap with those of several other countries, including Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
For more than a decade, China has been building military-grade airfields, ports and other infrastructure in parts of the South China Sea it claims as its territory.
China’s claims to this vital waterway overlap with those of several other countries, including Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
According to the report, China has more assets than any other country in the region, but Vietnam currently ranks second.
He added that the Hanoi-controlled Bark Canada Reef could potentially be fitted with a runway large enough to accommodate military transport and bomber landings.
The Grand View Institute, a Beijing-based think tank, warned last month that Vietnam could expand its construction activities in the region, posing the risk of “complications and escalation” of the situation.
There have been a series of clashes in other parts of the waterway in recent months, including collisions between Philippine and Chinese vessels and the use of water cannons by China.
