Vietnam expanding landfill work in South China Sea, report says

The country is expected to engage in a record number of island-building operations in waters Beijing also claims.

Vietnam has rapidly expanded its dredging and landfill operations in the South China Sea over the past six months, according to a new report.

The country is “on pace for a record year of island building in 2024”, according to the Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

It said it had added 692 acres (2.8 sq km) across 10 features in the Spratly Islands since November, roughly matching its efforts in the previous two years.

Although China and Vietnam have worked to improve relations in recent years, their conflicting claims in the South China Sea remain a major source of contention.

The think tank said Vietnam had reclaimed around 2,360 acres of land, around half the amount China has claimed, but that is an almost tenfold increase compared with the total Hanoi held three years ago.

China conducted massive land reclamation efforts in parts of the South China Sea it claims between 2013 and 2015.

After announcing a halt to reclamation work in 2015, it has carried on building infrastructure, including military-grade airstrips and harbours in the islands.

Its claims to the vital waterway overlap with several other countries, including Vietnam, but also the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.

For more than 10 years, China has been building infrastructure, including military-grade airstrips and harbours, in the parts of the South China Sea it claims.

Its claims to the vital waterway overlap with several other countries, including Vietnam, but also the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.

The report said China had more holdings in the region than any other country, but Vietnam was now in second place.

It added that the Barque Canada Reef, which is controlled by Hanoi, could now host a runway that was big enough for military transport planes or bombers.

Grandview Institution, a Beijing-based think tank, said last month that Vietnam was likely to expand its building activity in the region and warned of the risk of “complicating and escalating” the situation.

Recent months have seen a series of clashes involving Philippine and Chinese vessels in other parts of the waterway, including collisions and China’s use of water cannons.

By Alyssa Chen – The South China Morning Post – June 9, 2024