Antelope Reef is a small, teardrop-shaped island in the north-western corner of the South China Sea and, until recently, almost entirely underwater. But this year it has undergone a dramatic transformation. Millions of tonnes of sand have been dredged from the sea bed to create solid land. From being only a turquoise speck on the map, Antelope Reef now appears as a 6-sq-km (2.3-sq-mile) crescent of gleaming white sand, with a scattering of buildings in one corner. All in just six months. In the lagoon formed by the crescent dozens of ships can be seen. These are almost certainly cutter suction dredgers, of which China has the world’s largest fleet: some of them can scoop up 6,000 cubic metres an hour, enough to fill two Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Full report : Grab what you can while you can: The new reality in the South China Sea.