China condemns Vietnam’s land reclamation in South China Sea
In a rare protest, Beijing accused Hanoi of building on “illegally occupied” Spratly Islands and reefs. Vietnam built an airstrip on a reef in Canada Park in the South China Sea, pictured on February 2, 2025.
China on Wednesday made a rare public objection to Vietnam’s recent developments in the Spratly Islands.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiaqun said the Spratly Islands, a group of islands and reefs known internationally as the Spratly Islands, are China’s inherent territory.
Hanoi has restored many landmarks in the Spratly Islands and is currently building a 3,000-meter (10,000-foot) airstrip on one of the islands, Canada Coral Park.
Guo Ping said Pedra Branca is part of the Spratly Islands and China has always opposed construction activities by relevant countries on illegally occupied islands and reefs.
The reef is actually a rock under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and Vietnam first claimed sovereignty over it in 1987. Since 2021, the reef has grown rapidly, with the total land area of the landfill more than doubling in a year to nearly 250 hectares (620 acres) as of October 2024.
The disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, including Canada’s Parker Reef.
The Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative said that between November 2023 and June 2024, Hanoi set a new land record of 280 hectares (690 acres) on 10 of the 27 features it occupies in the Spratly Islands.
Beijing has remained silent so far as China is the first country in the region to build and arm artificial islands in the South China Sea.
In 2021, when Vietnam began its island-building program, China had already completed the construction of the “three major artificial islands” in the South China Sea (Fiery Cross Reef, Mischief Reef and Subi Reef), equipped with airstrips and military facilities.
Hanoi’s total dredging and reclamation work in the South China Sea is about half that of China’s, according to AMTI.
Vietnam’s “Look West” policy
The Vietnamese government has not talked about its actions on the islands, saying only that they are aimed at protecting them and providing typhoon shelter for fishermen.
Vietnam did not respond to the Chinese spokesman’s rebuke, but a Vietnamese analyst said it was the first time China had publicly and formally protested, probably because Beijing disapproved of the “Look West” policy pursued by Vietnamese leaders.
Hanoi and Washington established a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2023, which is comparable to Beijing’s partnership with Hanoi.
South China Sea analyst Huang Yue said Tu Lam, the new general secretary of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party, has repeatedly expressed his willingness to develop good relations and cooperation with the United States.
Carrie Lam also recently made an unprecedented visit to a war cemetery where thousands of soldiers who died in battles against invading Chinese troops between 1979 and 1989 are buried.
“China should not be happy about the visit of the Vietnamese party leader,” said a spokesman for Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also said that the protests against Vietnam’s land reclamation showed that Sino-Vietnamese relations “although they look close and strong on the outside, there are deep cracks inside.”
Another Vietnamese analyst told Radio Free Asia that he believes “Vietnam is aware of the dangers its activities in the South China Sea pose to China.”
“I hope the leaders in Hanoi are wise enough not to get caught up in the strategic competition between the United States and China,” said Dinh Kim Phuc.
“But they must be firm and decisive when it comes to Vietnam’s sovereignty in the South China Sea,” he added.
