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.
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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.
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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.
