China Expands Island Construction in Disputed South China Sea

Construction of artificial islands shows Beijing isn’t backing off its territorial ambitions.

Newly released satellite images show a dramatic expansion in China’s construction of artificial islands on disputed South China Sea reefs, intensifying concerns about Beijing’s territorial ambitions.

The images provide the first visual evidence that China has built an artificial island covering 75,000 square yards—about 14 football fields—and including two piers, a cement plant and a helipad, at a land formation called Hughes Reef, according to experts who have studied the pictures. The reef, which is above water only at low tide, lies about 210 miles from the Philippines and 660 miles from China.

The pictures, taken by a commercial satellite division of Airbus Group and released by IHS Jane’s, a defense intelligence provider, also show that China has made significant progress in building similar infrastructure in two other places, Johnson South Reef and Gaven Reefs, where Beijing’s territorial claims overlap with those of its neighbors.

‘We can see that this is a methodical, well-planned campaign to create a chain of air- and sea-capable fortresses across the center of the Spratly Islands chain.’
—James Hardy, Asia Pacific Editor of IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly

China appears to be building a network of island fortresses to help enforce control of most of the South China Sea—one of the world’s busiest shipping routes—and potentially of the airspace above, according to experts who have studied the images.

The pace and scale of its South China Sea buildup shows that Beijing, despite having recently reined in its rhetoric and avoided confrontations at sea and in the air, hasn’t tempered its ambitions to project power in the region.

“The Chinese have built up a head of steam on the land reclamation in the South China Sea over the course of 2014; if anything, it looks to be accelerating,” said a senior U.S. official, who described the extent of China’s reclamation work as “unprecedented.”

Historical images from Google Earth and others reveal that work at all four reefs began after President Xi Jinping took power in 2012.

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Satellite images show a dramatic expansion of Chinese outposts in the South China Sea. Here, a structure at Gaven Reefs is seen at left in March last year. At right, the same area is seen in January, with an artificial island linked by a causeway …
A more-recent image from August shows China’s progress on additional construction projects at Gaven Reefs. IHS Jane’s
An image from January shows China’s artificial island at Gaven Reefs linked by a causeway to the original installation. IHS Jane’s
Another Chinese outpost at Johnson South Reef is seen from a satellite in February 2006. The reef was the site of a skirmish in 1988 between Vietnamese and Chinese forces. The Chinese, who won control of the reef, have had a tiny outpost here for years. Google
The Johnson South Reef in June last year. Google
The original outpost at Johnson South Reef, seen here in January, has been incorporated into an artificial island including a helipad and a cement plant. IHS Jane’s
The original Chinese installation at Hughes Reef, seen here in 2004, covered an area of 380 square meters. It has since been expanded into an artificial island covering some 75,000 square meters. Google
Construction expands on Hughes Reef in August.
IHS Jane’s
Hughes Reef in January this year. IHS Jane’s
Fiery Cross Reef had only a small installation until last year. It is seen here in July, before construction expanded dramatically. Google
Satellite images show a frigate and other structures at Fiery Cross Reef in August. IHS Jane’s
Now, Fiery Cross Reef has been transformed into an artificial island at least 3,000 yards long that experts say is big enough to include an airstrip and could become a Chinese command and control center for military operations in the area. Seen here in November. IHS Jane’s
By
Jeremy Page in Beijing and
Julian E. Barnes in Washington
Updated Feb. 18, 2015 7:33 p.m. ET
198 COMMENTS

BEIJING—Newly released satellite images show a dramatic expansion in China’s construction of artificial islands on disputed South China Sea reefs, intensifying concerns about Beijing’s territorial ambitions.

The images provide the first visual evidence that China has built an artificial island covering 75,000 square yards—about 14 football fields—and including two piers, a cement plant and a helipad, at a land formation called Hughes Reef, according to experts who have studied the pictures. The reef, which is above water only at low tide, lies about 210 miles from the Philippines and 660 miles from China.

The pictures, taken by a commercial satellite division of Airbus Group and released by IHS Jane’s, a defense intelligence provider, also show that China has made significant progress in building similar infrastructure in two other places, Johnson South Reef and Gaven Reefs, where Beijing’s territorial claims overlap with those of its neighbors.

‘We can see that this is a methodical, well-planned campaign to create a chain of air- and sea-capable fortresses across the center of the Spratly Islands chain.’
—James Hardy, Asia Pacific Editor of IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly

China appears to be building a network of island fortresses to help enforce control of most of the South China Sea—one of the world’s busiest shipping routes—and potentially of the airspace above, according to experts who have studied the images.

The pace and scale of its South China Sea buildup shows that Beijing, despite having recently reined in its rhetoric and avoided confrontations at sea and in the air, hasn’t tempered its ambitions to project power in the region.

“The Chinese have built up a head of steam on the land reclamation in the South China Sea over the course of 2014; if anything, it looks to be accelerating,” said a senior U.S. official, who described the extent of China’s reclamation work as “unprecedented.”

Historical images from Google Earth and others reveal that work at all four reefs began after President Xi Jinping took power in 2012. Construction at two of the sites began in the past year, despite protests from neighboring countries, warming military ties with Washington, and a new Chinese drive to improve relations in its periphery.

U.S. officials say they have repeatedly asked China to stop the work, to no avail. Daniel Russel, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, conveyed U.S. concerns about the issue on a visit to Beijing this month, according to people familiar with the matter.

‘The sheer acreage of China’s reclamation work over the past two to three years dwarfs anything and everything other claimants have done by many times over.’
—Daniel Russel, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs

In an interview, Mr. Russel declined to discuss the specifics of his talks in Beijing, but said that the U.S. hoped China would stop the reclamation work.

“It is destabilizing and is at odds with the commitments the Chinese made” to members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, he said.
ENLARGE

China signed a nonbinding agreement with Asean committing to avoid provocative activities in the South China Sea, such as inhabiting previously deserted islands and reefs.

The reefs in the latest images are part of the Spratly Islands, a cluster of islets, rocks and reefs lying within the so-called nine-dash line by which Beijing delineates its claim to almost all of the South China Sea.

China’s claims overlap with those of Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan and the Philippines—a U.S. treaty ally—and many of them have been bolstering defense ties with the U.S. in recent years in response to what they see as Beijing’s enhanced efforts to assert its claims.

Other claimants, notably Vietnam, have built infrastructure on islands and reefs they control, but on a much smaller scale, according to U.S. officials and regional experts.

The Philippine government has been especially vocal in protesting Chinese construction in contested areas.

A U.N. tribunal is currently hearing a case brought by the Philippines against China over its claims in the South China Sea. However, China is widely expected to ignore the tribunal’s verdict and the U.S. and its allies and partners have few options to prevent Beijing from continuing with its reclamation and construction work.

“The U.S. and its allies and partners can only make declaratory protests that China should halt its activities and exercise self-restraint. China will ignore these protests,” said Carlyle Thayer, an expert on the South China Sea at the Australian Defence Force Academy. “The use of U.S. naval warships would be an escalation and carry risks.”

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