Satellite imagery indicates China has finished dredging and landfilling Antelope Reef in the disputed Paracel Islands of the South China Sea, creating a nearly 4-mile-long (6.5-kilometer-long) artificial island covering roughly 1,460 acres after work began in October 2025, Reuters reported on Aug. 19. Though Chinese state media describes the island as civilian, it contains a 740-yard wharf and deepwater harbor, with construction of various buildings, a helicopter pad and excavations consistent with a runway ongoing.