China deployed two H-6 long-range bombers to Scarborough Shoal this week, according to satellite images reviewed by Reuters. The move was not publicly announced by Beijing and came just before U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s visit to the Philippines.
Scarborough Shoal lies within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone but has been under Chinese control since 2012. The new bomber deployment signals China’s continued efforts to strengthen its presence in the South China Sea.
China’s military activity in the region is part of a broader push to assert its territorial claims. From 2013 to 2017, China built seven artificial islands in the Spratly Islands and equipped them with runways, radar systems, and missile platforms.
Vietnam, which also claims parts of the Spratlys, has been expanding its own outposts at a fast pace. According to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), a U.S.-based think tank, Vietnam created 641 acres of new land in the second half of 2024. This followed a record-setting 692 acres earlier that year. Vietnam’s total reclaimed land in the South China Sea is now around 3,319 acres—about three-quarters of China’s total.
Vietnam has also built new military infrastructure. AMTI reported that eight of Vietnam’s ten recently expanded features now have new harbors. Vietnam now has harbors on 12 of its 25 occupied features, compared to just four in 2021.
The upgrades are meant to support longer patrols by Vietnam’s navy and law enforcement, similar to China’s year-round operations. New landfills were added at Barque Canada Reef, Discovery Great Reef, Ladd Reef, and South Reef. A new 2,400-meter runway was completed on Barque Canada Reef, large enough to handle most military aircraft.
China responded in February with a public protest over the airstrip, saying it opposes construction on what it calls “illegally occupied” territory. Still, China has said little about Vietnam’s broader expansion efforts. Analysts suggest this may be due to the political ties between the two communist governments and Vietnam’s careful positioning in the region.
AMTI said Vietnam is likely to continue building military facilities now that much of its land reclamation is complete. Additional airstrips could follow on Ladd, Pearson, and Tennent reefs.
