Vietnam appears to have accelerated construction of artificial islands in the Spratly Islands since the beginning of the year amid the continuing battle for control over the South China Sea, according to a recently published American think tank report.
Albeit largely uninhabited, the Spratlys – known as Truong Sa in Vietnam – are home to untapped reserves of oil and natural gas, making it one of the most disputed areas in the marginal sea.
Aside from Vietnam, China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan assert claims to some parts or the entirety of the South China Sea.
New infrastructure, expansion projects
The Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies’ Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) said in its analysis of recent satellite imagery that Vietnam has carried out dredging and landfill work at Alison Reef, Collins Reef, East Reef, Lansdowne Reef, and Petley Reef in the Spratlys.
And has also started expansion projects at Amboyna Cay, Grierson Reef, and West Reef.
The latest development means “all 21 Vietnamese-occupied rocks and low-tide elevations in the Spratly Islands have now been expanded to include artificial land”.
It also indicates that Vietnam’s island-building is likely to surpass that of China, AMTI said in its report dated August 22.
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“These efforts build on Hanoi’s dredging and landfill activities over the last four years,” it added.
“As of March 2025, Vietnam had created about 70% as much artificial land in the Spratlys as China had.
“Reclamation at these eight new features all but ensures that Vietnam will match – and likely surpass – the scale of Beijing’s island-building.”
AMTI’s satellite images also showed other infrastructure on the newly expanded reefs, including six munition storage containers and six buildings arranged in an identical pattern.
“What, if anything, materialises in the central courtyard areas of these facilities will give an indication of their exact function, such as barracks or administrative buildings,” AMTI said.
China insists sovereignty
Three days after the release of the report, China rejected Vietnam’s expanded island-building activities in the South China Sea, while insisting that the Spratlys are part of its “inherent” territory.
“China firmly opposes relevant countries’ construction activities on islands and reefs they have illegally occupied,” Guo Jiakun, spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry, said at a press briefing in Beijing on August 25.
“We will take what is necessary to safeguard our own territory, sovereignty, and maritime rights and interests.”
The Vietnamese government has yet to comment on the matter.
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Shameeka Voyiya 
Newsjustnews writers 
Ren Azrack Escosio