Vietnam ramping up expansion of South China Sea outposts: Chinese think tank
South China Sea , with military-related construction of new ports and airstrips, according to a Chinese think tank.
Advertisement
Citing satellite images, the Beijing-based South China Sea Probing Initiative (SCSPI) said on Friday that Vietnam had reclaimed nearly 0.78 sq km (0.3 square miles) of land in the past six months on 11 features in the contested Spratly Islands, which are known as the Nansha Islands in China.
In total, Vietnam had reclaimed over 8.5 sq km of new land on these features since October 2021, the think tank added in an English-language social media post.
China and Vietnam have rival territorial claims in the South China Sea, particularly over the Spratly and Paracel islands.
The reclamation focused not only on expanding the land area but also the construction of military-related facilities, such as harbour basins, wharves and
runways , the think tank said in a separate post on Chinese social media.
Advertisement
These include an airstrip on the Spratlys'
Barque Canada Reef that is expected to be about 3,000 metres (9,843 feet) long when completed. Sandbars that could accommodate runways had also been built on four other Spratly features: Pearson Reef, Tennent Reef, Ladd Reef and South Reef, the SCSPI said.
South Reef is located just 50km (31 miles) north of the China-controlled Subi Reef.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Labubu's soft power, Trump eyes autumn China trip: 7 US-China relations reads
We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering US-China relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing 1. Trump eyes autumn China trip, but September visit off the table: sources Photo: AFP US President Donald Trump is keen to visit China but a September visit is not happening, according to sources, who said Beijing and Washington were working to secure a trip in October or November. Hurdles remain, but high-level officials 'share a consensus', sources familiar with the matter told the South China Morning Post. Read the full story here 2. Trump says Beijing making 'big steps' in controlling fentanyl Photo: AP US President Donald Trump said in July that Beijing is 'making big steps' in efforts to control the flow of fentanyl, an issue that the American leader has used to justify tariffs that he has slapped on imports from China. 'I think China has been helping out,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Read the full story here 3. Has Apple been trapped by China? Not so fast, analysts say Photo: Shutterstock A new book contending that Apple went too far in consolidating its operations in China is prompting debate among analysts of the country – some of whom say the company may have had no realistic alternatives. 'If they were to have it to do over again, would they have done anything differently?' asked Meg Rithmire, a Harvard Business School professor.
HKFP
4 hours ago
- HKFP
Hong Kong man arrested for allegedly threatening media outlets to publish ‘seditious' report
Hong Kong's national security police have arrested a man for allegedly threatening multiple media outlets to publish a report promoting a fundraising website for wanted activists. A 43-year-old man surnamed Tse was arrested in Fanling on Thursday in connection with intimidating letters sent in June to several local media organisations, police said at a press conference on Friday. According to Superintendent Chow Hok-yin, the letters demanded that media outlets publish a report about a website claiming to sell products to raise money for overseas activists wanted by Hong Kong authorities. The website also claimed that proceeds would be used to support activities calling for foreign sanctions on Hong Kong officials and judges. The letters warned that failure to publish the report could result in arson attacks on the media outlets' offices. As the letters and the report allegedly contained elements endangering national security, the case was taken over by the police's national security department, Chow said. Police said the website was hosted on an overseas server, and Tse is suspected to be its creator. Officers found image and text files used to create the website on Tse's computer, along with a document listing the names and office addresses of various local media outlets. Tse was arrested under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance – commonly known as Article 23 – for alleged 'seditious intention.' He also faces charges of suspected criminal intimidation. Chow declined to name the media organisations involved. Sedition is not covered by the Beijing-imposed national security law, which targets secession, subversion, collusion with foreign forces, and terrorism and carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. It was previously criminalised under the colonial-era Crimes Ordinance, with a maximum penalty of two years in prison. That law was repealed in March 2024, when Hong Kong enacted its homegrown security legislation, which raised the penalty for sedition to up to seven years in prison. Separate from the 2020 Beijing-enacted security law, the homegrown Safeguarding National Security Ordinance targets treason, insurrection, sabotage, external interference, sedition, theft of state secrets and espionage. It allows for pre-charge detention of up to 16 days, and suspects' access to lawyers may be restricted, with penalties involving up to life in prison. Article 23 was shelved in 2003 amid mass protests, remaining taboo for years. But, on March 23, 2024, it was enacted having been fast-tracked and unanimously approved at the city's opposition-free legislature. The law has been criticised by rights NGOs, Western states and the UN as vague, broad and 'regressive.' Authorities, however, cited perceived foreign interference and a constitutional duty to 'close loopholes' after the 2019 protests and unrest.
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
‘How can we trust you?': China's state media calls on Nvidia to prove safety of H20 chip
The article, entitled 'How can we trust you, Nvidia', called on the US company to 'comply with requests and provide convincing proof of security' to help regain the trust of its Chinese customers. 'Guarding network security is as important as protecting national territory,' the article said, adding that China should never use 'sick chips'. The People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party , cited examples of how cyberattacks and satellite network glitches have weighed down public services in Russia , including disruption of services at airlines and pharmacies. 'Nvidia does not have 'back doors' in our chips that would give anyone a remote way to access or control them,' an Nvidia representative wrote in an email to the South China Morning Post on Thursday night. Chinese state media's attention showed a pressure-cooker-like situation for Nvidia amid its efforts to remain a major supplier of AI chips to China, while abiding by the trade restrictions imposed by the US government on the mainland.
