A new island, a new base: The Chinese move that worries the entire region

China has completed the first phase of building a massive artificial island on Antelope Reef in the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, a move that could turn the site into Beijing's largest military base in the region. This is according to recent satellite images examined by the Reuters news agency.

According to the report, land reclamation and reef expansion works have created a strip of land about six kilometers long. A pier, a port, and additional infrastructure have already been built on the site, and the island's structure allows for the construction of a runway more than three kilometers long. Initial work to build a helipad has already begun. Experts estimate that the future runway could be used by fighter jets, transport aircraft, and even strategic bombers.

The change on the reef is particularly rapid. Until October 2025, Antelope was considered one of the smallest Chinese outposts in the Paracel Islands, but since then, Beijing has launched a massive dredging and filling operation. The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative estimated as early as March that China had reclaimed about six square kilometers at the site, an area almost identical to that of Mischief Reef, which had been the largest Chinese artificial outpost in the South China Sea until now.

The importance of the reef also stems from its location. It is located about 300 kilometers south of the Chinese island of Hainan and about 400 kilometers from the coast of Vietnam. The region is subject to a territorial dispute, and Beijing, Hanoi, and Taipei claim rights to it. China has effectively controlled the Paracel Islands since the 1970s and already operates military bases and radar and missile systems in the area.

Analysts estimate that the new base could significantly expand China's surveillance and control capabilities in the South China Sea and even assist it in a scenario of conflict around Taiwan. Due to its proximity to Hainan, where major bases of the Chinese Navy are located, the island could also be integrated into the defense system for Chinese nuclear submarines.

Beijing usually presents its facilities in the region as being intended also for research, weather forecasting, and civil services. However, Western researchers point out that the pattern on other islands shows that civil infrastructure later becomes military facilities. The construction of the island on Antelope Reef marks China's return to large-scale artificial island creation projects after a hiatus of almost a decade.