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[StrategyPage] Since 2019 Vietnam has been visibly improving its military facilities on several of the Spratly islands that China has been claiming even though the islands are closer to Vietnam and were often occupied by Vietnamese civilian or military facilities.
China has always considered Vietnam the most aggressive opponent of Chinese claims, and the two countries have fought near disputed islands several times since the 1980s. Vietnam has not backed down but has been forced to back away several times and is preparing to make any future Chinese aggression very difficult, if not impossible without a major military operation. Vietnam knows that China wants to avoid being such an obvious aggressor in these matters because most nations, as well as international law (and the tribunals that hear appeals) oppose the Chinese claims. |