Vietnam’s development of 21 Vietnamese-claimed rocks and low-tide elevations in the South China Sea has expanded considerably since 2021 to the point where it will match and possibly even exceed Chinese reclamation activity in the region.
The findings in a new report by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) at the Center for Security and International Studies in Washington, D.C., reveal major advancements over the past four years, from when these reefs had only small military pillboxes to now include more robust infrastructure, including munitions storage containers.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Although China has stated its opposition to Vietnamese reclamation activities, Beijing has done nothing to slow or stop Hanoi from expanding its island presence in the Spratly Islands. This is in sharp contrast to China’s response to the Philippines, which, unlike Vietnam, is not seeking to expand its territorial presence in the South China Sea but only seeking to preserve the original borders.
Experts like Boston College Political Science professor Khang Vu say the key distinction between the Vietnamese and the Philippines is Washington’s backing of Manila, which makes that maritime dispute an extension of the Great Power rivalry with the United States.
