Vietnam challenges Beijing with fortified artificial islands in the South China Sea

In the turquoise waters of the South China Sea, Vietnam is challenging Beijing’s grip on one of the world’s most important sea lanes. Over the course of four years, Vietnam has exploited a series of remote rocks and coral reefs to create heavily fortified artificial islands, expanding its military presence in the Spratly Islands, an archipelago where Hanoi’s claims conflict not only with those of China, but also with those of Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.

Built from sand, coral and rocks carved from the seabed, the new islands now include ports, a two-mile-long airstrip to accommodate large military aircraft, vast ammunition depots, and defensive trenches capable of holding heavy weapons, according to satellite images reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and analysts studying the South China Sea.

The military sites allow Vietnam to project its power in the Spratly Islands, and come in response to China’s campaign to expand and fortify a series of rocks and atolls in the island chain itself.

Vietnamese arming of the islands far exceeds what any country other than China has done in the South China Sea, which is a major route for global trade, and would be a vital resupply route for the US military in the event of a conflict over Taiwan.

New lands

Satellite images show that Vietnam has created new land on all 21 reefs, so-called low-tide reefs – reefs previously submerged at high tide – that it occupies in the Spratly Islands. This is compared to the seven artificial islands built by China in the archipelago.

Indeed, Vietnam has built more than eight square kilometers of artificial land in the South China Sea, compared to at least 16 square kilometers built by China, according to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Vietnam began large-scale land reclamation in 2021, using huge dredging boats near several reefs and rocks in the Spratly Islands.

Vietnam also uses land-based excavators that lift material from areas closer to shore to expand the island’s surface, then fortifies the new landmass with rock and concrete walls to protect it from erosion.

Strategic value

The scale of the transformation can be seen at Sand Cay, which has grown in a matter of years from a small speck of an island with a few buildings to a vast outpost including a large fortified harbor and other military infrastructure.

China has used its fortified islands in the South China Sea to deploy its ships and aircraft for longer periods without the need for refueling and storage on the mainland, and has also installed extensive radars and other surveillance infrastructure that enable it to monitor the movements of other countries through the waterway.

Vietnam is expected to use its new forward positions similarly, albeit without directing attacks against other countries, according to the deputy director of the Asian Maritime Transparency Initiative of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Harrison Brittatt.

The largest island

Park Reef Island, Vietnam’s largest and most developed artificial island in the South China Sea, shows off key new facilities and their purpose. Other islands built by Vietnam feature many of the same facilities, including ports, ammunition depots, administrative buildings, or larger barracks.

The Hanoi government has not publicly announced the construction of Park Reef, although officials have stated that the country is focused on protecting its sovereignty in the South China Sea. Spokesmen for the Vietnamese and Chinese Foreign Ministries did not respond to requests for comment.

When a Chinese government spokesman was asked in February about Vietnam’s land reclamation, he said it opposed “construction activities on illegally occupied islands and reefs.”

However, Chinese forces have never sought to prevent Vietnamese excavators from reaching military sites.

This contradicts China’s rhetoric and assertive actions against the Philippines, whose ships have been repeatedly blocked from transporting supplies to its more modest military outposts in the South China Sea.

A different look

Visiting researcher at Boston College, Kang Fu, said that the striking difference in treatment is due to Vietnam’s more complex relationship with China, noting that Chinese companies own thousands of factories in Vietnam, from which they export to the United States and other countries that have imposed higher customs tariffs on China.

He added that the two ruling communist parties in the two countries (China and Vietnam) have developed ways to address issues, such as Chinese attacks on Vietnamese fishermen in the Paracel Islands, away from the eyes of public opinion.

Vu continued: “Vietnam wants to manage the conflict with China, but at the same time we want to prevent any other sudden Chinese attack on those islands.”

Washington agent

In contrast, Beijing views the Philippines, a treaty ally of the United States, as a proxy for Washington, whose presence in the South China Sea Beijing opposes.

Lee Hong Hiep, a fellow at the Isaias Institute in Singapore, said: “The United States, which has condemned China’s construction of the islands, has not publicly declared its opposition to Vietnam’s efforts, most likely because it considers it an impregnable bulwark against Beijing.”

For his part, a US State Department official, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that Washington calls on “the parties in the South China Sea that claim sovereignty over these territories to resolve their disputes peacefully in accordance with international law.”

Only a few analysts believe that Hanoi, with its much smaller naval and air forces, is capable of defending military positions in the event of an all-out war. This relative weakness also explains why most other countries in the region have ignored Vietnam’s creation of large-scale artificial lands. About “The Wall Street Journal”

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to threaten

Visiting researcher at Boston College, Kang Fu, considered that “China’s construction of the islands posed a direct threat to many economic interests in Southeast Asia, and to access to the waters, as well as a threat to navigation and international maritime rights,” but he said: “No one believes that Vietnam will do any of that.”

. China has used its fortified islands to deploy its ships and aircraft for longer periods, without the need to refuel.

. Vietnam exploited rocks and coral reefs to create highly fortified artificial islands, expanding its military presence.