VietNamNet Bridge – Contrary to the cooling-off statements of Chinese leaders, what has been happening in the East Sea since the end of 2014 is quite different from what has been stated.

The recent photos of rocks and shoals in the East Sea where China has been conducting construction activities show that these places are being expanded. The scale and speed of the expansion of rocks or reefs that China is illegally controlling in the Truong Sa Archipelago (Spratly Islands) of Vietnam has worried the entire region.

China is accelerating illegal construction of artificial islands in the East Sea.

On May 2, 2014, tensions in the East Sea seriously escalated when China unilaterally deployed the HD-981 oil rig in the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of Vietnam.

Nearly two weeks later, on May 13, the Philippines announced the photo showing that China was building a runway on the Gac Ma Island.

The same day, a confidential report from the presidential office of the Philippines said that China was also performing construction activities in Tu Nghia (Hugh Rock) and En Dat (Eldad Reef).

On June 4, 2014, the Phil Star newspaper quoted Philippine President Benigno Aquino III as saying that he had received a report on the shift of the Chinese freighters in the two reefs of Gaven and Chau Vien (London Reef).

More than five months later, the satellite photos on the IHS Jane Journal released on November 14, 2014 showed that China was building a runway on Chu Thap (Fiery Cross Reef). These images were taken by satellites of the Airbus Defense and Space Agency. Compared with the photos taken on August 8, within less than three months, China significantly expanded the area of this reef.

According to IHS Jane's, the new artificial island will have a length of 3,000 meters and a width from 200 to 300 meters. According to satellite photos from Digital Globe, the northeast corner of the Fiery Cross Reef is the first place where China conducted renovation activities. According to Sohu of China, in less than 1 month, this area was expanded by 3 times, to 0.96 km2. After completing the renovation of the northeast corner, China will continue to renovate the other parts.

In October 2014, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) quoted Chinese experts as saying that the Fiery Cross Reef had been expanded to approximately 1 km2, becoming the largest reef in the Spratly Islands and the rehabilitation was still ongoing.

In addition, Professor Jin Canrong from the Chinese People’s University revealed in the SCMP that a plan to build an artificial island at the Fiery Cross Reef had been submitted to the Chinese government. This artificial island would have an area twice of the Diego Garcia military base of 44 km2 of the US in the Indian Ocean.

The IHS Jane's continued to publish photos of the renovation of China in the Gaven Reef. Based on satellite images taken by the Airbus Defense and Space Agency on March 31 and August 7, 2014, the renovation of this reef was conducted similar to the other rocks. However, according to IHS Jane's, no wharf was built in Gaven. It is estimated that, the artificial island in Gaven will be 200m x 300m in size. According to this source, China has renovated a total area of approximately 114,000 m2.

After IHS Jane's published the images on the Fiery Cross Reef, the spokesman of the US Army, Mr. Jeffrey Pool said: "We (the US) called on China to stop the program to renovate islands and have diplomatic initiatives to encourage the parties to refrain from performing similar activities."

US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel, during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart on February 10, 2015 urged Beijing to early stop rehabilitation of reefs in the Spratly Islands. "This will cause instability and be contrary to what China has committed to ASEAN," Russell said.

In response, the Global Times, a newspaper of the Communist Party of China, said: "China’s construction on the island Yongshu Island (the name China calls the Fiery Cross Reef) will not be affected by the words of the United States. Yongshu will become a large island, showing the huge construction ability of China."

Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yu Quan said: "The maintenance and construction of facilities on the reefs and islands in the South China Sea (East Sea) is completely legal and complies with the law. Other countries have no right to interfere in such construction activities."

The spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry Hua Chunying said on February 19, 2015 that "the 3rd countries should talk less and stop messing with this", referring to the US and the comments of Russel during his visit to Manila.

Nguyen The Phuong