China Completes First Phase of Antelope Reef Military Base in the Paracel Islands

Chinese engineers have spent eight months building the foundations of a new military complex on Antelope Reef (Vietnamese: Dá Hai Sâm, Chinese: Lingyang Jiao) in the contested Paracel archipelago. Satellite imagery from Vantor shows dredging vessels and pipelines that have turned the once-submerged reef into solid ground. By mid-July the interior had become a multi-pier harbor with a deep-water port where a Chinese Coast Guard vessel was observed anchoring in June. The eastern side now hosts housing, greenery, vehicles, a helipad and heavy-lift equipment, while a straight shoreline exceeding three kilometres could accommodate a runway. A pier about 680 m long extends from the artificial island, which stretches roughly six kilometres in length.

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The Paracel Islands have been claimed by Vietnam since a 1974 naval battle in which China seized the archipelago. China ratified UNCLOS in 1996, a treaty that does not grant maritime zones to artificial islands, yet Beijing continues to assert territorial seas and EEZs around its reclaimed features. The United States and other Western governments have warned that China’s island-building could heighten regional tensions. Former Pacific Command leaders Admiral Harry Harris and Admiral John Aquilino have described the construction as a “great wall of sand.”

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• Artificial island length: ~6 km

Public Anger Grows as Vietnamese State Media Ignores China’s Expansion in the Paracel Islands

• Straight shoreline suitable for runway: >3 km (potential 10,000-ft airstrip)

Public Anger Grows as Vietnamese State Media Ignores China’s Expansion in the Paracel Islands

• Pier length: ~680 m

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• Facilities observed: housing, greenery, vehicles, helipad, heavy-lift equipment

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• Construction began December 2025 (analyst Damien Symon) and reached visible development on the southeastern corner by July 19 (Vantor image).

Public Anger Grows as Vietnamese State Media Ignores China’s Expansion in the Paracel Islands

• Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi asserted that the above-water facilities are “completely for civilian purposes” and said, “It is so right now and it will also be so in the future.”

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• Beijing maintains the construction is a sovereign exercise of rights over its own territory in the Paracels.

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• U.S. officials view the buildup as a strategic challenge, with Admiral Aquilino noting fully militarized Chinese outposts elsewhere in the South China Sea.

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Vietnamese officials and the public have expressed strong opposition. Social-media posts have highlighted concerns that the new facility could host strategic bombers and surveillance systems, complicating regional security.

Public Anger Grows as Vietnamese State Media Ignores China’s Expansion in the Paracel Islands

Vantor’s imagery confirms dredgers, pipelines and newly built structures, including a helipad observed on July 19. Open-source analyst Ben Lewis (founder of PLATracker) noted that the Central Military Commission has elevated the importance of the South China Sea in connection with Taiwan.

Public Anger Grows as Vietnamese State Media Ignores China’s Expansion in the Paracel Islands

• Legal status: China claims maritime zones around the artificial island despite UNCLOS provisions; Vietnam and most international scholars dispute the claim.

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• Enforcement: No credible enforcement measures have been reported, leaving the legal dispute unresolved.

Public Anger Grows as Vietnamese State Media Ignores China’s Expansion in the Paracel Islands

• The Vietnamese government has not issued a fresh response to the latest phase of construction.

Public Anger Grows as Vietnamese State Media Ignores China’s Expansion in the Paracel Islands

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit the United States on September 24, exactly eleven years after his 2013 White House address on “the militarization of disputed areas.” Analysts suggest that a runway and additional defensive systems could be added in subsequent phases.

Newsweek