China set to militarize once pristine South China Sea reef
Reuters
China has completed the first phase of construction on Antelope Reef in the Paracels archipelago, building an artificial island in the contested South China Sea that analysts say will form part of a sprawling military operation.
Satellite images provided by United States-based Vantor Technologies show the dredged reef’s modified outline for the first time, with barges and dredgers gone after at least six months of work. The project compounds the increasing militarization of the vital maritime trade route.
“The northern part of the South China Sea would be particularly important in a Taiwan conflict scenario, so Antelope is ideally placed,” said Ben Lewis, founder of the open-source data platform PLATracker.
China claims self-ruled Taiwan and threatens to annex the island by force.
Construction has begun in Antelope Reef’s southeast corner, including a helicopter pad, according to July 2026 images by Vantor.
Beijing has not acknowledged construction of a military base at the reef, claiming only that the work will serve civilian purposes such as weather forecasting and scientific research. However, the project more likely will supplement China’s efforts to establish military outposts across the resource-rich sea, security analysts and military officials say.
The satellite images show an island nearly 6 kilometers long with a straight stretch of coast longer than 3 kilometers, which some analysts consider a potential runway. A 680-meter wharf fronts a deep-water harbor, with one image showing a China Coast Guard ship berthed alongside.
Initial work on the runway appears to have begun, the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies reported in August.
Development of Antelope Reef, formerly an uninhabited, largely submerged feature, is the latest example of China’s attempts to project power across the South China Sea. The project potentially is greater in scope than Beijing’s previous efforts to excavate and militarize reefs, shoals and outcroppings in the sea. When completed, Antelope Reef will be one of 20 such sites in the Paracels.
Woody Island, also in the Paracels, has served as China’s administrative center in the South China Sea, housing fighter jets and surface-to-air missiles. The Paracels’ Triton Island has extensive long-range surveillance devices.
China has occupied the Paracels since 1974, when it forced off the then South Vietnamese Navy. Vietnam, which claims the entire grouping, has moved in recent years to expand its network of bases in the Spratly Islands, a South China Sea archipelago south of the Paracels.
China arbitrarily claims most of the sea despite overlapping claims by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. An international tribunal invalidated China’s territorial assertions in 2016 in a case brought by the Philippines. Beijing’s continuing maritime incursions into other nations’ internationally recognized exclusive economic zones are condemned by the U.S. and its Allies and Partners.
The Antelope Reef buildup, which is likely to include surveillance equipment, could complicate submarine operations by the U.S. and Vietnam, said Collin Koh, a Singapore-based security expert.
