Vietnam is constructing navy and maritime infrastructure at 27 websites throughout no less than 18 reefs within the disputed Spratly Islands within the South China Sea, satellite tv for pc imagery analyzed by Radio Free Asia revealed.
The enhancements embrace ports, runways, navy services and communications arrays that may enhance Hanoi’s maritime and airspace consciousness, consultants instructed RFA.
“Hanoi is probably going hoping that this growth will deter Chinese language motion towards Vietnamese financial exercise at sea, together with fishing and offshore oil and fuel,” Harrison Prétat, deputy director of the Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, or AMTI, instructed RFA.
The Spratlys are a strategically crucial and closely contested archipelago comprising greater than 100 small islands and reefs claimed wholly or partially by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. The area is significant for international commerce and is wealthy in fishing grounds and potential oil and fuel reserves. No single nation holds universally acknowledged sovereignty over the islands.
Hanoi’s Goals
Over the previous decade, claimant nations — most notably China and, extra just lately, Vietnam — have engaged in in depth dredging and building as a way to extend their footprint within the disputed territories and to bolster their claims.
Vietnam has been significantly aggressive in reclamation efforts, creating a further 534 acres (216 hectares) of land throughout the archipelago over the previous yr, based on AMTI. This was along with the 2237 acres (905 hectares) it had already reclaimed over the previous 5 years. The brand new reclamation areas undertaken within the second half of 2025 are on a a lot smaller scale as reclaimable areas change into extra scarce.
Multiple undertaking is lively on a few of Vietnam’s holdings within the Spratlys, together with Cornwallis South Reef, Alison Reef and East London Reef.
The aggressive growth within the Spratlys is Hanoi’s try to enhance its means to function there, Lynn Kuok, the Lee Kuan Yew Chair in Southeast Asia Research on the Washington-based Brookings Establishment, instructed RFA.
“Vietnam is strengthening the logistical foundations of its presence within the South China Sea,” she stated. “By increasing its community of harbors throughout the Spratlys, Hanoi is making it simpler to maneuver personnel, provides and tools between its occupied options and the mainland to maintain operations over longer durations.”
Monitoring the airspace
A key a part of the brand new building will assist Hanoi to patrol the skies. At current Vietnam has a single 4000-foot (1,200-meter) runway on Spratly Island, the fourth-largest island within the Spratly chain from which the archipelago will get its title.
A brand new, a lot bigger runway at Barque Canada Reef will stretch roughly 13,000 ft (4,000 meters) when it’s full.
Along with the runway, Satellite tv for pc imagery additionally confirms {that a} new communications construction has been put in — based on AMTI, it seems to be a Doppler VHF Omnidirectional Vary (DVOR) navigation beacon that may doubtless present correct navigation for Vietnamese plane inside 100 nautical miles of the island.
AMTI stated related beacons could possibly be seen on the Spratly airstrips managed by China.
“The navigation beacon at Barque Canada primarily serves to assist Vietnamese plane navigating the encompassing areas of the South China Sea,” stated Prétat. “I might solely anticipate to see one other DVOR beacon in the event that they construct one other new airstrip, however we’ll doubtless see different varieties of communications and sensing services constructed on all the brand new outposts.”
The enhancements to airspace infrastructure point out a shift in Vietnam’s Spratly growth, stated Kuok. The primary part was land reclamation, and now the second part, including infrastructure to the enlarged islands and reefs, is underway.
“The set up of communications and navigation infrastructure ought to enhance connectivity among the many options Vietnam occupies and assist plane working within the South China Sea,” she stated.
Insurmountable disparity
Regardless of the development growth, Vietnam has no practical path to matching China’s air capabilities, Prétat stated.
Beijing already has 4 airstrips — at Fiery Cross Reef, Subi Reef, Mischief Reef and Woody Island — and can doubtless add a fifth at Antelope Reef. Moreover, Vietnam’s air pressure is way smaller and fewer technologically superior than China’s.
“Hanoi is probably going hoping that it will enhance its means to observe its maritime areas and deter Chinese language gray zone exercise, however it gained’t change the very fact of China’s overwhelming navy dominance within the South China Sea,” Prétat stated.
China due to this fact retains substantial benefits within the Spratlys, with roughly twice as a lot reclaimed land, extra in depth navy infrastructure and overwhelming benefits in naval, coast guard and maritime militia capabilities, Kuok stated.
Tit for tat?
RFA just lately reported that Vietnam protested China’s land reclamation actions at Antelope Reef, however Prétat stated China could have began these as a response to Vietnam’s Spratly expansions.
China’s building of a brand new facility at Antelope Reef suggests Beijing needs to maintain that hole sufficiently giant — maybe to sign to Vietnam and different Southeast Asian claimants that “catching up” just isn’t an choice. Beijing will do what it should with a view to keep its dominance within the South China Sea, he stated.
Kuok stated she is worried that Vietnam’s fortification of options it occupies may create extra factors of friction with Chinese language forces and due to this fact improve the opportunity of incidents or clashes.
However China’s disputes with Vietnam are much less of a flashpoint than these Beijing has with the Philippines, she famous, including that each Vietnam and China have sturdy incentives to stop tensions within the South China Sea from spilling over into the broader bilateral relationship, which stays necessary economically and politically.
Prétat stated that Vietnam’s place within the dispute is difficult by its broader relationship with China.
“Vietnam has been very proactive. They fought battles with China within the South China Sea, however additionally they have a really completely different set of worldwide relationships,” he stated. “On the one hand, they’re one of many stronger voices on the South China Sea disputes, however alternatively they’ve a novel relationship with China that they’ve to take care of.”
RFA tried to contact each the Vietnamese and Chinese language governments for touch upon the continued building within the Spratly Islands, however neither responded.
Edited by Eugene Whong.
