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Vietnam
ChinaDiplomacy

South China Sea: Vietnam builds up defences against Beijing in Spratly Islands, report says

  • Emplacements for air and coastal defence systems installed on most of its bases in the disputed archipelago to ‘ensure it can strike Chinese facilities’
  • Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative says the most significant upgrades in the past two years have been at West Reef and Sin Cowe Island

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An aerial view of Southwest Cay, which is controlled by Vietnam and part of the Spratly Islands. The report said recent works at West Reef and Sin Cowe followed “established patterns seen at other Vietnamese outposts in the Spratlys”. Photo: Reuters
Rachel Zhang
Vietnam has been building up its defences in the Spratly Islands over the past two years to “ensure it can strike Chinese facilities” in the disputed archipelago, a report by a Washington-based think tank said.

Emplacements for air and coastal defence systems have been installed on most of Vietnam’s bases in the Spratlys, with the most significant upgrades at West Reef and Sin Cowe Island, according to the report released on Friday by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies’ Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.

It said the recent building work underscored Vietnam’s efforts to make its facilities in the area more resilient against China, and to make sure Chinese bases were within striking range.

Both countries lay claim to the Spratlys in the South China Sea – claims that overlap with those of the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan – and occupy outposts there. Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea and tensions have escalated over its increasing assertiveness in the region, which has become a flashpoint with the United States.

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According to the report, the recent upgrades at West Reef and Sin Cowe “follow established patterns seen at other Vietnamese outposts in the Spratlys”.

“The coastal defence installations – concrete emplacements often connected to a bunker – are ubiquitous at Vietnam’s larger outposts,” the report said.

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