Vietnam ramping up expansion of South China Sea outposts: Chinese think tank
South China Sea , with military-related construction of new ports and airstrips, according to a Chinese think tank.
Advertisement
Citing satellite images, the Beijing-based South China Sea Probing Initiative (SCSPI) said on Friday that Vietnam had reclaimed nearly 0.78 sq km (0.3 square miles) of land in the past six months on 11 features in the contested Spratly Islands, which are known as the Nansha Islands in China.
In total, Vietnam had reclaimed over 8.5 sq km of new land on these features since October 2021, the think tank added in an English-language social media post.
China and Vietnam have rival territorial claims in the South China Sea, particularly over the Spratly and Paracel islands.
The reclamation focused not only on expanding the land area but also the construction of military-related facilities, such as harbour basins, wharves and
runways , the think tank said in a separate post on Chinese social media.
Advertisement
These include an airstrip on the Spratlys'
Barque Canada Reef that is expected to be about 3,000 metres (9,843 feet) long when completed. Sandbars that could accommodate runways had also been built on four other Spratly features: Pearson Reef, Tennent Reef, Ladd Reef and South Reef, the SCSPI said.
South Reef is located just 50km (31 miles) north of the China-controlled Subi Reef.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Revived Silk Route allows US to steam ahead of China, Russia in South Caucasus
The shortest Silk Route between China and Europe is set to reopen for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union, following Friday's agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan to end the conflict that had been blocking the way. Shoehorned last minute into negotiations by Azerbaijan's close ally Turkey , the US took on the role of security guarantor for Armenia in return for a lease to develop and operate the so-called Zangezur Corridor, a route linking Azerbaijan to its Karabakh enclave via a strip of Armenian territory bordering Iran. Dubbed the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, the proposed project represents the first major US involvement in the South Caucasus since a 1994 contract with an international consortium that set Azerbaijan on the path to becoming a major oil and gas exporter – via pipelines through Turkey, rather than Iran or Russia US President Donald Trump (centre) is flanked by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (right) and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev at the peace signing ceremony in the White House on Friday. Photo: AP Briefing journalists, a White House official claimed 'the losers here are China, Russia and Iran'. Eurasia experts, however, said that the deal was not viewed in such binary terms by Armenia and Azerbaijan.
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Inclusiveness in Hong Kong should go beyond token gestures
Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@ or filling in this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification The letter , 'Ethnic minorities in Hong Kong: how community centres can foster integration' (August 5), rightly questions whether the city has done enough to build a robust multicultural environment. True integration, however, requires more than symbolic gestures; dismantling the systemic barriers faced by non-Chinese residents demands structural reforms. Hong Kong's demographic diversity is too often oversimplified. While 91.6 per cent of the population is ethnically Chinese, the remaining 8.4 per cent encompasses communities with deep roots – some that can be traced back to the colonial era – as well as newer arrivals. A blanket label like 'ethnic minorities' flattens varied experiences and perpetuates stereotypes about non-Chinese groups, South Asian heritage or lower socioeconomic status. This risks turning diversity into a problem to be managed, rather than seeing it as an asset to be embraced. The 2021 Population Census reveals telling residential patterns: non-Chinese groups are concentrated in districts like Yau Tsim Mong and Central and Western. History explains some of this clustering. South Asians deployed to Hong Kong as colonial-era police and soldiers settled near barracks, creating enclaves such as Yuen Long's Nepali community and Central's Muslim cluster. Economic factors further shape these patterns, with low-income families crowding into older neighbourhoods and so on.
HKFP
7 hours ago
- HKFP
Hong Kong court to hear closing submissions in Jimmy Lai trial
A Hong Kong court is set to hear closing arguments in the trial of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who stands accused of foreign collusion and sedition charges. The high-profile trial is scheduled to enter its 147th day on Thursday, after a roughly five-month break since March. The proceedings – originally scheduled to last 80 days – began in December 2023. But a heavy downpour – which prompted the Hong Kong Observatory to issue the black rainstorm signal at 7.50am – led the Judiciary to postpone Thursday morning hearings. Court proceedings may resume if weather conditions improve by 11am. Lai, 77, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiring to collude with foreign forces under the Beijing-imposed national security law, and a third count of conspiring to publish seditious materials under colonial-era legislation. He faces a life sentence if convicted. Prosecutors have accused the media tycoon of requesting foreign countries to engage in hostile activities, such as imposing sanctions, against authorities in Hong Kong and mainland China. Lai also allegedly used the now-shuttered tabloid Apple Daily – which he founded in 1995 – to publish seditious remarks against the authorities and encourage the public to participate in the pro-democracy protests and unrest in 2019. He allegedly not only conspired with senior editorial staff of Apple Daily but also was the 'mastermind and financial supporter' of the Fight for Freedom; Stand with Hong Kong (SWHK) advocacy group, which lobbied for international sanctions against Hong Kong and China. Lai's trial has drawn international criticism, including from the US and the UK, while the Hong Kong government has urged foreign countries to 'stop interfering' in the ongoing legal process. During the proceedings, multiple prosecution witnesses testified against the former media boss, including senior Apple Daily staff members Cheung Kim-hung and Chan Pui-man, as well as activists linked to the SWHK group, such as Andy Li and Chan Tsz-wah. Lai also took the witness stand for 52 days. In his testimony, often interpolated with spirited exchanges between himself and prosecutors, Lai denied allegations of foreign collusion and defended his political beliefs. But he was also grilled by prosecutors and the three judges presiding over the trial about his foreign ties and past remarks, including what he wrote in his Apple Daily column and said in interviews with international media. The media tycoon has already been in custody for over 1,600 days, after he was denied bail in December 2020. Since then, Lai has been convicted in three separate cases relating to unauthorised assembly as well as in a fraud case, in which he was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison in 2022.
