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Kristin Huang

China has reclaimed land to extend a reef in the Spratly Islands, in the disputed South China Sea, satellite images show.
Photographs taken by American space technology company Maxar showed that Subi Reef – which is also claimed by the Philippines and Vietnam – had new land added to it that had not been visible in a satellite photo taken on February 20.
The new rectangle of land, about 2.85 hectares (7 acres) in size, had been added to the southern edge of the ring-shaped coral atoll, which encloses a lagoon and has a channel for vessels to enter and leave.
A circular pattern in one corner of the land suggested a tower or radome could be built there, according to Maxar.

Collin Koh, a research fellow from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said the new construction could be used for many purposes.
“It’s located right along the waterfront, notably,” Koh said. “It’s a probable multipurpose site. There could be buildings and an observation or radar tower, but the open-paved ground is multifunctional.
“It can allow for large-scale activities and, perhaps more pertinently, helicopter landing, and even a site for mobile weapon systems or sensors.”
Military commentator Song Zhongping said that besides installing military systems, building at the reef “can be used to improve the living environment for soldiers stationed there”.
South China Sea: the dispute that could start a military conflict
The new construction is the latest of the efforts by China, the Philippines and Vietnam to strengthen their overlapping claims in the South China Sea, where each has built up facilities.
China has been dredging and building artificial islands in the Spratlys since 2013, with some equipped with radar, runways and surface-to-air missiles.
Subi Reef is one of six artificial islands Beijing has claimed and developed in the South China Sea. It is 26km (16 miles) from Thitu Island, known as Pagasa by the Philippines, which has occupied it and built a beaching ramp.
Vietnam has installed emplacements for air and coastal defence systems on most of its bases in the Spratlys, with the most significant upgrades being at West Reef and Sin Cowe Island, according to a report last month by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies’ Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.


Beijing said in 2015 that it had halted land reclamation, a claim not widely accepted by the international community. The next year, an international tribunal ruled that Beijing’s claimed ownership of about 90 per cent of the resource-rich South China Sea had no legal basis.
Tensions have flared in the Spratlys this month over the continued presence of a reported 200-plus Chinese vessels near the Beijing-controlled Whitsun Reef, amid complaints that China was turning it into another outpost.
When the vessels were spotted in January, Chinese company Chang Guang Satellite Technology said they were sheltering from rough seas, but a continued presence near the reef prompted Manila to label them “maritime militia” and Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin to file a diplomatic protest with Beijing.
The Chinese embassy in Manila on Monday dismissed the militia tag and said the vessels were fishing boats taking shelter.


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South China Sea

South China Sea: Beijing has extended another Spratly Islands reef, photos show

Chinese buildings on the Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands in 2017. Photo: AP

stills from a video released by American space technology company Maxar. Photo taken on Feb 20 showed the land was not existent.

A video released by space technology firm Maxar shows a piece of land has been added to Subi Reef. Photo: Handout

Philippines must protest over Beijing’s ‘little blue men’ or waive South China Sea claims, Rodrigo Duterte’s government told

In this Sunday, March 7, 2021, photo provided Sunday, March 21, 2021, by the Philippine Coast Guard/National Task Force-West Philippine Sea, some of the 220 Chinese vessels are seen moored at Whitsun Reef, South China Sea. The Philippine government expressed concern after spotting more than 200 Chinese fishing vessels it believed were crewed by militias at a reef claimed by both countries in the South China Sea, but it did not immediately lodge a protest. (Philippine Coast Guard/National Task Force-West Philippine Sea via AP)

A demonstration in front of the Chinese consulate in Manila protests against Beijing’s actions in the South China Sea. Photo: AFP

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Photo: Reuters

Chinese structures and an airstrip on the man-made Subi Reef. Photo: AP

The Chinese flag flies over octagonal structures built on stilts at the Manila-claimed Mischief Reef. Photo: AFP

Beijing’s focus on maritime law ‘reflects rising concerns over South China Sea’

Beijing refused to accept a 2016 international tribunal ruling that there is no legal basis for its claims to most of the South China Sea. Photo: Weibo

South China Sea: what are rival claimants building on islands and reefs?

Construction is visible on the Vietnam-controlled Southwest Cay, in the Spratly Islands. Photo: Reuters

Satellite imagery from December 13 and 14, 2018 show a barge anchored off the west coast of the island with excavators and a bulldozer in the process of depositing and grading sand to extend the small existing causeway to the edge of the reef-presumably creating the beaching ramp referred to by Lorenzana. Photo: CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Initative/DigitalGlobe

graphic for online Maritime claims in the South China Sea Exclusive economic zones and China's nine-dash line KEY — Vietnam China — Taiwan 500Krn Source: Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative — Philippines Malaysia — Indonesia — Brunei South China's China Sea nine-dash line Sulu Sea INDONESIA Philippine Sea SCMP

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Land has been added in the past month to Subi Reef, also claimed by the Philippines and Vietnam
It comes amid dispute over nearby Whitsun Reef, with a reported 200 Chinese vessels being labelled ‘maritime militia’ by the Philippines



Land has been added in past month to Subi Reef, also claimed by the Philippines and Vietnam, while dispute continues over 200 Chinese vessels at Whitsun Reef.


China-Philippines relations

China-Asean relations

South China Sea: Beijing has extended another Spratly Islands reef, photos show

Land has been added in the past month to Subi Reef, also claimed by the Philippines and Vietnam It comes amid dispute over nearby Whitsun Reef, with a reported 200 Chinese vessels being labelled ‘maritime militia’ by the Philippines

Land has been added in the past month to Subi Reef, also claimed by the Philippines and Vietnam

It comes amid dispute over nearby Whitsun Reef, with a reported 200 Chinese vessels being labelled ‘maritime militia’ by the Philippines