China has opened a 6,000 square metre shopping centre on Woody Island in the disputed Paracel Islands, the latest civilian facility on this South China Sea outpost following a hardware store and hotpot restaurant. Woody Island, the largest of around 30 islands in the Paracels chain, serves as the administrative hub of Sansha city, established in Hainan province in 2012 to assert Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea.
China has opened a new shopping centre on Woody Island in the disputed Paracel Islands, bolstering its civilian presence on this strategically vital South China Sea outpost. The 6,000 square metre complex is the latest Chinese civilian facility on the island, following the first hardware store and hotpot restaurant.
Woody Island is the largest of around 30 islands in the Paracels chain and serves as the administrative hub of Sansha, a city established in Hainan province in 2012 to assert Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. Sansha governs the Paracels, as well as the disputed Spratly Islands and Macclesfield Bank, called Nansha Islands and Zhongsha Islands, respectively, in China.
The city had a permanent population of about 2,200 at the end of 2024, according to data from the Hainan statistics bureau.
This development highlights China's efforts to build civilian infrastructure in the region, amid territorial disputes involving Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines over the Paracels.