Vietnam seems “determined to maximize the strategic potential of the features it occupies” in areas of the South China Sea that China also claims, a U.S. think tank said.
The Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, or AMTI, said in a new report there are indications Hanoi is developing airstrips on several of the artificial islands, and “signs of potential military structures” have also been spotted across a number of features.
Radio Free Asia reported on Oct. 25 on the construction of a runway on Barque Canada reef, the largest-to-date reclaimed island under Vietnam’s control in the Spratly archipelago.
Known as Bai Thuyen Chai in Vietnamese, the reef has undergone intensive development since 2021 and its current total landfill area is estimated at nearly 2.5 square kilometers, or 617.7 acres.
The airstrip has since been lengthened from 1,050 meters to approximately 1,600 meters and could be extended to 3,000 meters or more, long enough to accommodate larger aircraft.
Until now, Vietnam has only one 1,300-meter airstrip on the islands in the South China Sea, on an island called Spratly. The new runway “significantly expands Vietnam’s options for deploying combat aircraft to the Spratly Islands,” AMTI said, adding that it “may not be the only runway Hanoi has planned for the Spratlys.”
The AMTI said there may be plans to develop airstrips on at least two other reclaimed islands, Pearson reef and Ladd reef. Both of the features are being built up fast.
Military structures
Besides the runways, AMTI said in its report that new formations of berms, or raised barriers, encasing six areas “are visible in recent imagery of Barque Canada Reef, Central Reef, Tennent Reef, Namyit Island, South Reef, and Ladd Reef.”
“Given the coastal orientation of most formations, it’s possible these areas could be intended to house anti-ship artillery or missile platforms,” the group said.
Analysts have said that military bases and runways in the Spratlys would bolster Vietnam’s strategic capabilities to counter China’s power projection in the South China Sea.
Beijing has fully developed and militarized at least three artificial islands, known as “The Big Three”, including Fiery Cross, Subi reef and Mischief reef in the Spratly archipelago.
“Three years from when it first began, Vietnam is still surprising observers with the ever-increasing scope of its dredging and landfill in the Spratly Islands,” AMTI said.
Yet as reclamation work continues fast on new features and “in unexpected directions,” the think tank said the extent of new capabilities Vietnam would have remains to be seen.