Reports indicate extensive reclamation work by China at Antelope Reef in the South China Sea's Paracel Islands, a once-submerged feature, prompting questions about its strategic value to Beijing. Newsweek, citing European satellite imagery, reported dredging began after October 15. Beijing has not confirmed the reports or commented on the matter.
A Newsweek report, based on European satellite imagery, indicates that dredging at Antelope Reef began sometime after October 15, concentrated along four sites on the eastern and southern sides of the reef's lagoon. Additional land appears to have been reclaimed on either side of the current outpost and adjoining port facility on the reef.
Beijing has not confirmed the reports or commented on the matter. The Chinese foreign ministry has been contacted for comment but has not responded.
Antelope Reef's significance lies in its location—about 300km (185 miles) from the port of Sanya on the southernmost tip of China's Hainan island, and about 400km from Da Nang on the Vietnamese coast. The reef is in the Paracel Islands, part of the disputed South China Sea, controlled by China but also claimed by Vietnam and the Philippines.
Keywords from the report include CSIS, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, South China Sea, Philippines, Vietnam, China, Antelope Reef, People's Liberation Army, Chinese foreign ministry, Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands, Beijing, and Sansha. The development highlights ongoing tensions in the South China Sea, though sources provide no further details on implications or future actions.
