Vietnam has been ramping-up its dredging and landfill work in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) in the South China Sea, creating another 133 hectares of land since December last year, a US think tank said in a report.
The expansion, much larger than 49 hectares it had created from 2012 to last year, made Vietnam second only to China in terms of island buildup in the Spratly Islands, Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in its report this week, citing satellite imagery.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Photo: Reuters
China claims sovereignty over vast swathes of the South China Sea, including the areas where Vietnam has been building up islands.
The sea is one of the world’s most contested waterways, where more than US$3 trillion of trade passes each year.
Taiwan, China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have lodged competing claims for some or all of the Spratly Islands.
The recent expansion by Vietnam was the most noticeable at Barque Canada Reef, called Bai Thuyen Chai in Vietnam, where 210 acres of land was created in the past year, the report produced by CSIS’s Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) said.
Vietnam had started using cutter suction dredgers to “accelerate its dredging efforts,” and last month, it began dredging at two additional features, including South Reef and Central Reef, the report said.
Vietnam’s efforts have remained focused on dredging and landfill, with construction of infrastructure yet to begin, it said.
China created more than 1,295 hectares of land from 2013 to 2016 in the area, the think tank said.
In August, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam rejected a map released by China that denotes its claims to sovereignty including in the South China Sea.
Taiwan last night blanked world No. 1 Japan 4-0 to win the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 for the first time. Taiwanese ace Lin Yu-min (林昱珉) held defending champions Japan to just one hit and no runs in the first four innings, before catcher Lin Chia-cheng (林家正) opened the fifth inning with a solo home run. That was soon followed by a three-run homer from Taiwanese captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) to put Taiwan ahead in the prestigious tournament of the world’s top 12 baseball teams. In addition to a superb performance from 21-year-old Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Lin, three more Taiwanese pitchers
Taiwan yesterday advanced to the gold medal match of the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 for the first time in history, despite last night losing 9-6 to Japan. Taiwan advanced after the US defeated Venezuela in the first game on the last day of the Super Round. However, the US had no chance of advancing to the championship game unless it defeated Venezuela by at least nine points. The US won 6-5. As a result, the two teams — who both had one win and two losses in the Super Round — are to face off again in the
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday held an equipment installation ceremony for its first 2-nanometer fab in Kaohsiung, six months ahead of schedule, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said. “To cope with the strong global demand for advanced chips, TSMC is to start moving in equipment for its first-ever 2-nanometer fab half a year earlier than scheduled,” Chen said at an question-and-answer session at the Kaohsiung City Council. TSMC’s 2-nanometer process technology would help accelerate the development of artificial intelligence (AI) applications as well as the transformation of local industries in Kaohsiung, Chen said in a
TEAM TAIWAN: While lawmakers proposed declaring Nov. 24 a national day, the CPBL commissioner urged the legislature to pass the budget for sports development Lawmakers yesterday proposed designating Nov. 24 as National Baseball Day and updating the design of the NT$500 bill to honor the national team’s victory in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12 championship on Sunday, as thousands of fans came out to see the players parade down the streets of Taipei. Players, coaches and staff from the national team returned home on Monday night after achieving their best-ever performance in an international baseball tournament. After receiving a rapturous welcome at the airport, the players turned out yesterday for a street parade in front of thousands of adoring fans waving Taiwanese flags and
RSS