China has finalized the first phase of construction at Antelope Reef in the Paracel Islands, creating an artificial island in the disputed South China Sea. Analysts indicate that Beijing aims to establish its largest military base here, according to reports from Reuters.
New satellite images reveal the contours of the reclaimed land for the first time after barges and dredgers left the area following at least six months of work in this heavily trafficked waterway.
Images captured by satellites also documented the construction progress earlier last month.
The completion of these works underscores the increasing militarization of the South China Sea amid heightened competition between China and the United States and their allies, as both sides seek advantages that could be vital in any future conflict regarding Taiwan.
“The northern part of the South China Sea would be particularly important in a conflict scenario for Taiwan, so [the reef] Antelope is ideally located,” stated Ben Lewis, founder of the open-source data platform PLATracker, in comments to Reuters.
Construction has already begun on buildings in the southeastern corner of the island, including a helipad, based on images taken on July 19 by Vantor, a commercial satellite imagery provider.
China has yet to officially acknowledge the establishment of a new military base, with state media in Beijing claiming that Antelope Reef will serve civilian needs such as weather forecasting and scientific research.
Satellite Images Reveal China’s Artificial Island Developments
Regional security analysts and military attachés believe the project will likely strengthen China’s military control over the northern section of this strategic maritime route.
The imagery shows an artificial island nearly 6 kilometers long, with a straight coastline measuring over 3 kilometers, which some analysts consider a potential landing strip.
A 680-meter quay extends along a deep-water port, with one image from Vantor showing a coast guard vessel docked nearby.
A report released this week by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington noted that excavation work for a new landing strip appears to have already begun.
Damien Symon, an open-source intelligence analyst who first reported the dredging operations at the reef in early January, mentioned that he observed initial signs of construction as early as December last year.
According to Lewis, Antelope Reef could emerge as one of China’s most critical military positions in the South China Sea, larger than the nearby Woody Island and easier to defend compared to the southern bases in the Spratly Islands.
“I believe the significance of the South China Sea and the Southern Theater Command has increased over the past year within the Central Military Commission, largely in relation to Taiwan,” Lewis added, referencing China’s principal military leadership structure, overseen by President Xi Jinping.
Why the Artificial Island Raises Significant Concerns
Chinese military planners might feel more comfortable stationing certain weapons, such as strategic H-6 bombers, in the Paracels and closer to mainland China rather than in the Spratlys further south.
Woody Island, the largest of the Paracel Islands, has traditionally served as China’s administrative center in the South China Sea, occasionally hosting fighter jets and surface-to-air missiles. Triton Island also in the Paracels features extensive long-range surveillance installations.
China has occupied all of the Paracel Islands since 1974 when it expelled the former South Vietnamese navy. Vietnam, which claims the entire archipelago as its own, has intensified efforts to expand its own network of bases in the Spratlys in recent years.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comments on the situation. In the past, it has reaffirmed its sovereignty claims over Antelope Reef, stating in March that it “strongly opposes such actions (and) has made diplomatic démarches.”
In addition to Vietnam, other Southeast Asian nations, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei, also have claims in the South China Sea.
Collin Koh, a security researcher in Singapore, suggests that Antelope Reef could also support any efforts by Beijing to establish so-called bastions or protected maritime zones in the South China Sea, aiming to defend its nuclear-armed submarines.
A Military Base Complicating Geopolitical Dynamics
Koh notes that the development of the island, which will likely host extensive surveillance equipment, could complicate submarine operations for both the United States and Vietnam, both of which are active in the area.
Such bastions, located near bases of origin, would protect China’s submarines from exposure to adversary attacks, eliminating the need for them to venture out into the western Pacific.
Carl Thayer, a professor at the Australian Defence Force Academy, states that once completed, the facilities in the Paracels would enhance China’s ability to monitor the United States and its allies during peacetime and add an additional layer of complexity in case of a conflict.
“This is still something the United States needs to deal with and something that [the Chinese armed forces] might try to defend from the mainland,” he emphasized.
