Dredging and silting are dramatically changing the landscape of the South China Sea archipelago, an ongoing conflict between China and Vietnam, to extend to the contested cluster of islands, islets, 100 reefs, atolls and islets called the Spratlys.
Vietnam, in a feverish effort since the beginning of time, has been trying to seize 1,000 acres of land — more than in any other year in the South China Sea — in response to the growing Chinese encroachment, according to satellite imagery and interviews with officials, security analysts and diplomats.
Hanoi is already expanding its presence in the Spratlys from 2021.
China, for its part, has been developing the islets for a decade, transforming them into sophisticated military bases. Since then, Vietnam has expanded its presence in the Spratlys tenfold in just three years.
The problems in the South China Sea
The leaders of the communist government of Vietnam they refuse to acknowledge their expansionist operations even in private conversations, security analysts and diplomats said.
However, in rare interviews, five former and current Vietnamese officials told The Washington Post that the government is deploying Spartlysoutposts designated for self-defense purposes, as part of a broader strategy to address threats in a timely manner.
“We will use all reasonable means to ensure that we can defend and safeguard our legitimate interests in the Eastern Sea”said Le Dinh Tinh, director-general of political planning at Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, using Vietnam’s name for the South China Sea.
Vietnam’s activities in the Spratlys are “absolutely within their legal rights,” he added.
Tink stressed that Vietnam wants a peaceful resolution of its maritime disputes, but as the government stressed is concerned about the recent escalation of tensions in the South China Sea, namely between China and the Philippines, which clashed over a reef in the Spratlys.
Feature rich
China has long sought dominance over the South China Sea, a strategically important and resource-rich maritime area claimed by six other governments.
Concern over US involvement
Chinese vessels have repeatedly harassed Philippine ships in the disputed waters in recent months, raising concerns that the United States, which has a mutual defense treaty with Manila, could become embroiled in an armed conflict.
From 2013 to 2015, after a “raid” of occupation of about 3,000 acres of land, in Spartlys, China has developed military bases with anti-aircraft and anti-ship missile systems, radars and warplanes.
Vietnam’s largest outpost, on an atoll that has doubled in size
In response, according to Vietnamese officials, Vietnam has expanded its outposts in the Spratlys by building dams, reinforcing dams and constructing new facilities.. The most dramatic transformation in recent months has occurred at Barque Canada Reef, a narrow 18-mile-long atoll that has doubled in size, because of work.
The reef, which once housed six small structures, is now Vietnam’s largest outpost in the Spratlys, wide and long enough to create a 3,000-meter runway for large military aircraft, according to an analysis of satellite imagery by the Asian Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Strong reaction when China set up an oil platform
In 2014, China set up an oil platform 190 kilometers (120 miles) off the Vietnamese mainland, in an area that Hanoi considers an exclusive economic zone (EEZ). This led to a months-long standoff. with Chinese ships dropping water “bombs” on Vietnamese ships and sinking them – at least – one boat.
Anti-Chinese protests across Vietnam have turned into riots, with Chinese businesses looted and set on fire.
There have been regular skirmishes at sea between the two countries lately, Vietnamese officials said. But Vietnam and China have avoided making most of them public.
Chinese vessels, however, continue to enter Vietnam’s EEZ, according to ship-tracking data monitored by research groups including AMTI and the South China Sea Chronicle Initiative, a Vietnam-based think tank.