Satellite photographs have revealed new construction on Yagong Island in the Paracels archipelago, leading analysts to believe China is constructing a major military base that will consolidate its grip on the disputed South China Sea islands.
The latest photos were taken by commercial imaging company Vantor on August 17, and showed substantial progress on construction that first appeared on satellite photos from March and April.
“Several structures on Yagong Reef resemble other military radar/early warning facilities seen elsewhere in the South China Sea and are likely associated with the ultimate military functions of nearby Antelope Reef,” Vantor said.
Antelope Reef is a small atoll claimed by China, Vietnam, and Taiwan. China launched a massive dredging and landfill operation to make the atoll larger in October 2025, with the apparent purpose of transforming Antelope Reef from one of China’s smallest outposts into a major military base.
The island-building effort was so aggressive that Antelope Reef is now four miles long and covers almost 1,500 acres, big enough to accommodate a 9,000-foot runway, and its lagoon could become the largest harbor in the area. The expanded reef is big enough to host surveillance installations, missile batteries, electronic warfare facilities, and an underground storage complex.
Yagong Island is about 8.5 miles northeast of Antelope Reef. It is a much smaller feature than the expanded reef, but Vantor’s satellite photos showed that it now boasts several buildings, and could be used as a platform for radar and other electronic systems to support the Antelope Reef base.
The Chinese Defense Ministry did not respond to questions from reporters about Yagong Island, but Chinese state media has claimed all development in the Paracels is for civilian purposes, weather forecasting, and scientific research.
China’s state-run Global Times on Wednesday dismissed foreign media interest in Antelope Reef, which China refers to as Lingyang Jiao, as hype and fearmongering.
The Chinese Communist paper blithely excused the buildings on Yagong Island as a “civilian facility” without providing evidence, details, or even attribution for the claim — and then spent a thousand words hyperventilating about the unfairness of foreign observers accusing Beijing of militarizing the South China Sea.
“Some Western media outlets view China’s activities through the lens of a geopolitical and military rivalry, and their positions and views appear to have become fixed. Even before island construction and facility deployment have been completed, they have already reached preconceived conclusions about so-called militarization,” complained research director Ding Duo of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies.
Amusingly, Ding then told the Global Times that Antelope Reef and Yagong Island might just be a military installation after all — and it was “entirely reasonable for China to deploy necessary defensive facilities to safeguard its own security,” so the rest of the world has “no grounds for criticism.”
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