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Laura Zhou

New satellite images suggest China’s land reclamation at Antelope Reef in the South China Sea is nearly finished, according to researchers.
One image taken on June 22 showed that dredgers within the lagoon of the teardrop-shaped coral atoll in the Paracel Islands had been replaced by cargo barges, an indication that land reclamation was near completion, London-based research group the Open Source Centre (OSC) said on social media on Friday.
Meanwhile, four large, blue cylindrical storage silos have appeared at what looks like a concrete production plant in the northwest part of the reef, according to one image taken on June 24 – a sign that construction may be moving into the heavy infrastructure phase.
Notably, one of the images released by the OSC showed that a long, reinforced quay was firmly in place in the southwestern corner of the lagoon.
“This enhances its waterfront infrastructure as the reclaimed feature steadily develops into China’s largest artificial island in the South China Sea,” Damien Symon, a researcher with global intelligence research network The Intel Lab, said on social media, referring to the quay.
After a hiatus of nearly a decade, China jump-started its island-building campaign around October last year, when new dredging began at Antelope Reef, American news magazine Newsweek reported in early January, citing satellite imagery.
A March analysis of satellite images by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative under the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimated that roughly 603 hectares (1,490 acres) of land had been reclaimed at the reef, known as Lingyang Jiao in China and Da Hai Sam in Vietnam.
That is about the same size as Mischief Reef, China’s largest outpost in the South China Sea, which measures some 609 hectares. The atoll is part of the Spratly Islands, known as the Nansha Islands in Chinese.

Before the transformation of Antelope Reef, China’s largest island in the Paracels was Woody Island, or Yongxing Island. The island, which hosts an air and naval base and a town that administers the region, measures 360 hectares, according to CSIS.
Beijing said in March that it was carrying out “construction” in the Paracels aimed at “improving the living conditions of the islands’ residents and serving local economic development”.
However, the pace of land reclamation at Antelope Reef has led to speculation about whether Beijing will turn the reef into a military outpost, extending its surveillance range towards Vietnam’s coast and consolidating its control over the northern South China Sea.
Beijing took full control of the Paracels, known as the Xisha Islands in China and the Hoang Sa Islands in Vietnam, in 1974.
China maintains that there are no disputes over the Paracels and frequently cites a 1958 diplomatic note from Pham Van Dong, then prime minister of North Vietnam, as evidence that Vietnam recognised Chinese sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly islands.
In an interview earlier this month, Wu Shicun, a prominent maritime expert and the founding president of China’s National Institute for South China Sea Studies, rejected the idea that China’s construction at Antelope Reef was a response to Vietnamese land reclamation in the Spratlys.
He said China’s activities at Antelope Reef were aimed at protecting and restoring the marine environment.
Wu said that if China genuinely intended to counter Vietnam’s island construction, “we would take action in the Spratly Islands rather than at Antelope Reef”.
“The Paracel Islands are undisputed territory and we are fully entitled to carry out any lawful activities when we see fit.”


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Satellite images suggest construction at the South China Sea atoll, now Beijing’s biggest outpost in the Paracels, is entering a new phase


Satellite images suggest construction at the South China Sea atoll, now Beijing’s biggest outpost in the Paracels, is entering a new phase.


Paracel Islands

Vietnam

Centre for Strategic and International Studies (US)

National Institute for South China Sea Studies

Is China’s massive island-building push at Antelope Reef nearing the finish line?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Satellite images suggest construction at the South China Sea atoll, now Beijing’s biggest outpost in the Paracels, is entering a new phase

Satellite images suggest construction at the South China Sea atoll, now Beijing’s biggest outpost in the Paracels, is entering a new phase