Institute for the Study of War
@TheStudyofWar
ISW is a policy research organization focused on U.S. national security. Email: press@understandingwar.org.
Joined September 2009
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MORE: The PRC began the island construction in late 2025. Satellite imagery from @planet also shows piers, a helipad, and various buildings on the reef as of August 2026. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (@CSIS) Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative reported on August 14 that the PRC may now be building a runway on the artificial island that could measure up to 9,000 feet long. PRC state-owned tabloid Global Times published an article on August 20 claiming that recent construction was carried out to improve the quality of life for residents and fishermen, citing a March statement by a PRC foreign ministry spokesperson.
Antelope Reef is part of the Paracel Islands, which the PRC administers but Vietnam also claims. The PRC has used other Paracel Islands outposts as surveillance and administrative hubs. Antelope Reef’s large lagoon offers a protective harbor for PRC surface vessels and submarines, and its runway and future infrastructure, such as missile launchers and radar, may make it a useful base for the PRC to exert sea and air control over the South China Sea. PRC efforts to militarize the South China Sea may complicate US and coalition efforts to reinforce and defend Taiwan during a war.
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NEW: New satellite imagery shows that the PRC finished the construction of an artificial island on Antelope Reef, a disputed South China Sea feature in the Paracel Islands. The PRC is also constructing a runway, piers, a helipad, and various buildings on what could be the PRC’s largest South China Sea naval base. The PRC could use this base for surveillance, exerting its sea and air control over the South China Sea. (1/2)
Other Key Takeaways:
The PRC approved plans for a maritime environmental observation station in the South China Sea that would monitor the “Zhongsha Islands,” which include Scarborough Shoal. The PRC has used environmental protection to enhance its operations in the South China Sea and as a pretext for limiting non-PRC vessels’ access to disputed waters. This new station would likely serve a dual-use purpose benefiting PRC military and law enforcement operations in the South China Sea.
Taiwan’s military conducted its first live-fire FPV drone exercises on August 17, likely in an effort to integrate lessons learned from the war in Ukraine. Taiwanese drone procurement efforts are facing legislative gridlock, which will make it more difficult for Taiwan to procure the necessary systems to conduct drone-enabled defense operations.
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