Coral to Concrete: China Building New Facilities in the Paracel Islands

On the heels of high-level purges in Beijing and military exercises targeted at Taiwan, China is undertaking a rapid land-reclamation project at Antelope Reef in the Paracel Islands. An OSC analysis of SAR and optical satellite imagery reveals the pace at which Chinese dredgers are building a new outpost in the Paracel Islands.

With dozens of cutter-suction dredgers currently at work, China is solidifying the Great Wall of Sand, likely in an attempt to further bolster its presence in the region, which already hosts an expansive network of airfields, deep-water ports and advanced anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) batteries.

The rapid development at Antelope Reef is the latest chapter in the transformation of the regional security architecture, further cementing Beijing's ambitions in the South China Sea.