China has begun expanding an artificial island at Antelope Reef in the disputed South China Sea, according to a report by Newsweek, a development that analysts say could further heighten tensions with rival claimants and reinforce Beijing’s long-standing maritime strategy.
The report suggests that dredging and land reclamation activity was resumed at the reef in late 2025. The images show sand and sediment being deposited around an existing Chinese outpost, suggesting an effort to enlarge the feature and improve port or support facilities. Antelope Reef, also known as Linyang Jiao in Chinese, lies in the Paracel Islands, an archipelago controlled by China but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.
China has maintained control of the Paracels since 1974, when it seized the islands following a brief naval clash with South Vietnam. Since then, Beijing has gradually improved infrastructure in the area, but these efforts have attracted far less global attention than China’s large and more visible island-building projects in the Spratly Islands further south.
According to Newsweek, the work at Antelope Reef appears consistent with China’s broader approach of incremental expansion—strengthening its presence at multiple, smaller features rather than relying solely on a handful of large bases.
Analysts quoted in the report noted that even modest reclamation can improve logistics, surveillance and the ability to sustain personnel, gradually tightening China’s control over surrounding waters.
The development recalls China’s large-scale dredging operations between 2013 and 2017, when it transformed several reefs in the Spratlys into artificial islands complete with runways, radar systems and hardened facilities. Those projects drew strong criticism from U.S. and Southeast Asian nations and were followed by increased freedom of navigation operations by the U.S. Navy.
In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal ruled that China’s expansive maritime claims had no legal basis under international law, a decision Beijing rejected. Since then, China has continued to assert its claims while other claimants, including Vietnam and the Philippines, have also upgraded their own occupied features.
Newsweek noted that environmental damage is another concern linked to renewed dredging. Marine experts have warned that land reclamation can cause long-term harm to coral reefs and fisheries in an already fragile ecosystem.
China has not publicly commented on the reported activity at Antelope Reef. However, observers say the latest expansion underscores how contested features in the South China Sea remain flashpoints, where even relatively quiet construction work can carry significant strategic and political implications.
