Media reporting in early 2026 has highlighted new Chinese dredging and landfill activity at Antelope Reef in the Paracel Islands. This is the first significant artificial island-building Beijing has undertaken in the South China Sea since 2017. But the more consequential—and underreported—development may be the projected size of the artificial island. If construction proceeds at the pace seen in satellite imagery, Antelope Reef is set to become China’s largest feature in the Paracels and potentially in the entire South China Sea, equaling or even surpassing the size of Mischief Reef in the Spratlys.
Antelope Reef lies within the Crescent island group in the southwestern part of the Paracels. It is located approximately 162 nautical miles from Sanya Port in China’s Hainan province and 216 nautical miles from Da Nang, Vietnam. Previously one of China’s smallest outposts in the Paracels, Beijing began major dredging at Antelope in October 2025, and in recent weeks has begun preliminary construction on some areas of the reef.
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