Vietnam Is Building Islands to Challenge China’s Hold on a Vital Waterway

In the turquoise waters of the South China Sea, one country is challenging Beijing’s grip on one of the world’s most important maritime thoroughfares.

Over four years, Vietnam has built out a series of remote rocks, reefs and atolls to create heavily fortified artificial islands that expand its military footprint in the Spratly Islands, an archipelago where Hanoi’s claims clash not only with China’s but also with those of Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.