People identify illegal Chinese constructions in the East Sea

China's illegal construction of artificial islands on reefs in Vietnam's Truong Sa archipelago and the construction of militarized structures there have made world public opinion uneasy.

Simon Scarr, VP of GraphicsReuters, feels that it is possible to exploit more information from satellite images to more closely monitor illegal construction activities on artificial islands in the East Sea that China has always tried to hide.

Late last year, in a discussion with Earthrise Media, an independent group that helps journalists collect and analyze satellite data, Scarr wondered whether it was possible to count the number of structures China had built on its seven artificial islands in the Spratly Islands.

Over the next six weeks, Earthrise combed through hundreds of satellite images taken since 2014, when China began rapidly building artificial islands. Scarr and his colleagues took the data and contacted military and academic sources for insights.

They quickly realized that China had built a total of 1,652 illegal structures in the East Sea, more than all the structures built by other countries in this area.

On Subi Reef in Vietnam's Truong Sa archipelago, China has illegally built nearly 400 buildings, more than expected and nearly double the number of structures on similar islands.

Scarr said this data has helped him and his colleagues build a visual database with images and information from other sources about China's illegal construction activities in the East Sea.Information about Subi Reef also helped journalists in Hong Kong, Beijing and Sydney study the secretive activities China is carrying out on the artificial island.

The data also provides insight into China’s ambitions to deploy military bases on these artificial islands. The buildings on Subi, along with the expanded infrastructure on Fiery Cross and Mischief Reefs, have the layout of military barracks on the mainland and can accommodate up to2,400 soldiers.

Subi is the largest of the seven artificial islands that China has built in the Spratly Islands. On this reef, along with Mischief Reef and Fiery Cross Reef, China has built runways up to 3,000 meters long, along with missile launchers and warehouses.and a range of devices that can track satellites, foreign military activity and communications.

US intelligence sources said that in April, China deployed anti-ship and anti-aircraft cruise missiles to these three artificial islands, a sign that Beijing is increasing its militarization in the East Sea. The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly protested, demanding that China withdraw its missiles from Truong Sa and affirming Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos.

Anh Ngoc