WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Vietnam has been ramping up its dredging and landfill work in the South China Sea, creating almost as much new land as in the previous two years combined, setting the stage for a record year of island building, North researchers said. Americans on Friday.
Since November 2023, when the Washington-based think tank published its last report, Vietnam has created 692 new acres (280 hectares) of land, compared with 404 acres created in the first 11 months of 2023 and 347 acres in 2022. , the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a new report.
China, which has been building islands in the South China Sea since 2013, claims sovereignty over vast areas of it, including areas where Vietnam has been building islands.
The sea is one of the most contested waterways in the world, through which more than 3 billion dollars in trade passes every year. China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have lodged competing claims to some or all of the Spratly Islands.
The activity has raised fears that the area is becoming a flashpoint that could have serious consequences for global affairs.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Rod Nickel)
