The Latest: According to a May 8 report by the Washington, D.C.-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), Việt Nam continues to expand its artificial islands aggressively in the South China Sea.
Over the past year, starting in March 2025, Việt Nam added an additional 534 acres (approximately 216 hectares) in the Spratly Islands, bringing its total reclaimed area to 2,771 acres (around 1,121 hectares).
The Details: As of 2025, Việt Nam has established a total of 12 harbors across its maritime territories. Satellite imagery indicates that three new harbors are under development on East Sin Cowe Island, Petley Reef, and South Reef, which increases the total number of Vietnamese ports in the Spratlys to 15. Of these, 11 have been built since 2021.
Furthermore, Việt Nam continues to upgrade infrastructure on previously reclaimed features. At Barque Canada Reef, which is the largest outpost for Việt Nam in the Spratlys, a new aircraft beacon system is now installed. The AMTI report described this new system as “strikingly similar” to systems used at Chinese airfields in the Spratly Islands.
The Background: Sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea have remained a persistent geopolitical flashpoint between Việt Nam and China for years.
Since 2013, China has accelerated large-scale land reclamation and artificial island construction in the region. In response to the increasingly assertive actions of Beijing, Việt Nam rapidly expanded its own island-building activities beginning in 2022 to reinforce its territorial claims.
By early 2025, the reclamation efforts of Việt Nam nearly caught up with those of China. However, the gap widened again after China dredged and expanded Alison Reef, which raised its total artificial land area to roughly 5,460 acres (about 2,210 hectares). Large-scale coral dredging and land reclamation activities by all claimants in the South China Sea have long drawn criticism from environmental experts for causing severe damage to the marine ecosystems of the region.
Why It Matters: During the state visit of General Secretary and President Tô Lâm to China in April 2026, the two countries pledged to deepen cooperation in trade, infrastructure connectivity, defense, and security. Việt Nam explicitly defined its relations with China as a “strategic priority partner.” Against that collaborative backdrop, the South China Sea issue saw little notable progress and remained largely subdued on the bilateral agenda.
Huỳnh Lam wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on May 12, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights of the English translation.
