During a regular press briefing, a question was raised about the Baojiao Reef in the Nansha Islands. China has always claimed Baojiao Reef as its territory. However, since the 1980s, it has been occupied by Vietnam. A study by China's Ministry of Natural Resources shows that since 2022, Vietnam has expanded Baojiao Reef ten - fold through land reclamation. It has also dredged a 299 - meter - wide channel at the western end of the reef. China firmly opposes relevant countries' construction activities on illegally occupied islands and reefs as the Nansha Islands are an inherent part of China's territory.
China is willing to follow the important consensus of the top leaders of the two parties and two countries with Vietnam, maintain high - level strategic communication, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and accelerate the construction of a China - Vietnam community with a strategic significance, so as to promote bilateral relations to new heights at a new historical starting point. Vietnam stated that the current China - Vietnam relationship is at its best in history. The Vietnamese Party and government always regard relations with China as a strategic choice and top priority. They are willing to take the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Vietnam and the Year of People - to - People and Cultural Exchanges as an opportunity to implement the important consensus of the top leaders of the two parties and two countries and continuously deepen all - round strategic cooperation in accordance with the overall goal of "six more".
Recently, Western commercial satellites captured that Vietnam has quietly completed a more than three - year secret land reclamation project on Hongxiu Island, which it illegally occupies in the Zhenghe Reefs of the Nansha Islands. Since 2022, using professional dredging vessels imported from the Netherlands, Vietnam has expanded the originally long and narrow island, which was 560 meters long, 180 meters wide, and only 0.08 square kilometers in area, to an astonishing 0.6 square kilometers, even larger than Taiping Island in the same Zhenghe Reefs controlled by the Taiwan authorities. Satellite photos show that a considerable - scale port, airport, and artificial lagoon have been built on Hongxiu Island, which can meet the needs of Vietnamese ships to take shelter in bad weather.
According to the investigation and analysis of American media, in the past three years, Vietnam has implemented an aggressive land - reclamation plan in the South China Sea, resulting in a more than ten - fold expansion of the area of the islands and reefs it actually controls. Now, new expansion projects are in full swing on many South China Sea islands and reefs illegally occupied by Vietnam, and facilities such as military ports, piers, and airport runways have emerged one after another. Vietnam's move aims to turn these islands and reefs into "unsinkable fortresses". Moreover, in the past five years, Vietnam has vigorously developed its naval and air forces, purchasing new Su - 30 fighter jets and missile frigates from Russia, obviously to strengthen its control over the South China Sea islands and reefs.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson responded to Vietnam's transformation of Baojiao Reef at a regular press briefing. China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands, including the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters, which is based on profound historical and solid legal grounds. Since the 1980s, Vietnam has illegally occupied Baojiao Reef. According to the research of China's Ministry of Natural Resources, since 2022, Vietnam has increased the area of Baojiao Reef to about 1.94 square kilometers through land reclamation, nearly ten times the original area, and dredged a 299 - meter - wide channel at the western end of the reef, which is wide enough for large warships to berth.
In recent years, Vietnam has been constantly taking actions in the South China Sea. It has built the prototype of an aircraft runway up to 2000 meters long on several illegally occupied islands and reefs such as Baojiao Reef, Bi Sheng Reef, Wu Mie Reef, Ri Ji Reef, and Nai Luo Reef. According to incomplete statistics, in the first six months of 2024, Vietnam added about 280 hectares of land in the South China Sea, and the newly - created land area is almost equal to the sum of the past two years. Vietnam's actions are an attempt to strengthen its actual control in the South China Sea by expanding the area of the islands and reefs and implementing military deployments, ultimately coveting the rich resources in the South China Sea.
At the 23rd Senior Officials' Meeting on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea held in Jakarta, Indonesia on February 21, 2025, China and ASEAN countries emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea. All parties agreed to continue to comprehensively and effectively implement the Declaration, deepen cooperation in multiple fields such as marine environmental protection, scientific research, search and rescue, and law enforcement, and strive to promote the consultation process of the "Code of Conduct in the South China Sea" to reach the "Code" as soon as possible, so as to build a institutional guarantee for peace and stability in the South China Sea. Vietnam's previous unilateral actions such as land reclamation in the South China Sea are obviously contrary to the spirit of this meeting.
