Hanoi has claimed 220 hectares of land in the past few years, 170 in 2022 alone, far less than what China has done, which Southeast Asian countries are trying to oppose.
Hanoi (AsiaNews) – Several observers report that Vietnam has resumed work on expanding and consolidating its presence on the islands it administers in the South China Sea, clearly aiming to claim the area.
In the past decade, Hanoi has reclaimed some 220 hectares of land, 170 in the last year alone. This reflects the current geopolitical situation in South-East and East Asia with a growing perception of a Chinese (and North Korean) threat.
In Vietnam’s case, this has meant a policy of rearmament with the acquisition of more advanced military technologies and developing a closer relationship with the United States, Japan and other countries.
For the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Vietnamese claims include in particular Namyit Island, Pearson Reef and Sand Cay, where usable land and infrastructure, including military, are being built up.
In the first two, port facilities are being established that can accommodate large tonnage. But Tenent Reef is also undergoing significant expansion.
However, for CSIS’s Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), this is far short of the more than 1,350 hectares of land created by China between 2013 and 2016, when Beijing’s expansion activity was its highest.
Mainland China, which has established and expanded military outposts on several reefs and islands taken mainly from the Philippines, has unilaterally pursued claims, expanding its territory and exclusive economic zone.
Responding to China’s unilateral action, the Philippines went before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague where it obtained a favourable ruling in 2016 against China.
While all the countries bordering the vast South China Sea (known by different names in the various countries) have overlapping claims, the area also has great strategic value as it is crisscrossed by key trade routes, and has rich gas deposits in its seabed and abundant fisheries.
This is why US, British, Australian and other Western warships regularly sail these waters, with their respective governments insisting that any disputes must be the subject of negotiations between the parties and not subordinated to unilateral actions backed by military pressure.