Vietnam steps up reclamation work on Da Nam reef in South China Sea

Beijing's measured response to Hanoi's efforts is strategic, says analyst

- Nga Pham

Vietnam is accelerating land reclamation efforts on a strategic reef located in the northern Spratly archipelago in the South China Sea, just a few kilometres from a Philippine-occupied island.

The hitherto little-discussed South Reef, known as Da Nam to the Vietnamese, was originally a low-tide elevation that is submerged at high tide, with two pillbox structures that served as military outposts.

Reclamation has proceeded rapidly over the past two years and the reef now covers a land area of more than 60ha, making it one of the largest Vietnam-occupied features in the Spratlys.

This reporter recently visited South Reef and witnessed the construction work extending across the white sands, with dozens of towering cranes cranking away nonstop.

Several Vietnamese fishing vessels were seen plying the surrounding waters.

Satellite imagery shows that Vietnam has sped up its land reclamation efforts in the Spratlys, expanding all 21 of its occupied features with artificial land and potentially surpassing China's total reclaimed area.

Hanoi began reclamation work on South Reef in October 2023, some 35 years after it occupied the reef in the CQ-88 Campaign - a series of Vietnamese military operations between 1978 and 1988 to assert its sovereignty in the Spratly Islands.

Vietnamese researcher Truong Nhan Tuan told The Straits Times: "The reef, together with other features in the area, holds strategic importance as it is positioned along a key maritime route in the northern South China Sea, connecting Northeast Asia with Southeast Asia, Australia and the Pacific."

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development estimates that 80 per cent of global trade by volume is transported by sea.

Of that volume, 60 per cent of maritime trade passes through Asia, with the South China Sea carrying an estimated one-third of global shipping.