Latest news with #SCSPI
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Vietnam ramping up expansion of South China Sea outposts: Chinese think tank
Vietnam has continued to expand land reclamation on its occupied features in the 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.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
Vietnam ramps up expansion of South China Sea outposts: think tank
Vietnam has continued to expand land reclamation on its occupied features in the South China Sea, with military-related construction of new ports and airstrips, according to a Chinese think tank. Citing satellite images, the Beijing-based South China Sea Probing Initiative (SCSPI) said on Friday that the Southeast Asian nation had reclaimed nearly 0.78 sq km (0.3 square miles) of land on 11 features in the contested Spratly Islands, known as the Nansha Islands in China, over the past six months. China and Vietnam have rival territorial claims in the South China Sea. In total, Vietnam has reclaimed over 8.5 sq km of new land on these features since October 2021, according to a social media post by the think tank. Vietnam has also stepped up construction of military-related facilities, such as harbour basins, wharves and runways , the think tank said in a separate post on Chinese social media. It said Vietnam was building an airstrip on Barque Canada Reef that is expected to be about 3,000 metres (9,843 feet) long when completed. It added that sandbars that could accommodate runways had also been built on four features, including Pearson Reef, Tennent Reef, Ladd Reef and South Reef.
South China Morning Post
25-03-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Even as US military stretched and distracted, South China Sea activity rose: paper
The United States increased its activity in the South China Sea last year to 'varying levels' as it moved to strengthen its presence in the region , but its rise was hampered by the number of vessels at its disposal and 'distractions' elsewhere, according to a Chinese think tank report. Advertisement While its presence in the contested waterway might have increased, the number of 'island-intrusive' freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs) and transits through the Taiwan Strait by the US had dropped, it said. According to an annual report on US military activities by Beijing-based think tank the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative (SCSPI) on Tuesday, American armed forces maintained a 'high-intensity military presence' in the South China Sea and surrounding areas in 2024, following a trend of increasing both the frequency and intensity of US 'activities against China' since 2009. 09:23 History, money and military: why the South China Sea is so important to Beijing History, money and military: why the South China Sea is so important to Beijing The report said that despite the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, the number and frequency of US military platforms, such as vessels and aircraft, operating in the South China Sea last year had 'varying levels of increases'. However, the report also said the US military had shown greater risk-control awareness by reducing provocative aerial close-in reconnaissance missions to China, with the authors stating it had 'stagnated, reaching their limits'. According to SCSPI, the US continues to leverage the Philippines as a 'key node' to find 'increments', significantly intensifying exercises, drills and strategic and tactical deployments aimed at the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. Advertisement 'The frequency of bomber operations and the number of operational days for ocean surveillance/survey vessels doubled compared to 2023,' the report said. 'Exercises and joint operations with allies continued to grow rapidly. Close-in reconnaissance to China by large land-based aircraft maintained previous frequencies, while CSG [carrier strike group] and submarine activities increased slightly.'
