Exclusive: China nearly finishes illegal building on East Sea reef China has nearly finished the illegal construction of a nine-storied building on a reef in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands, Thanh Nien has found. The Tu Nghia (Hughes) Reef, which lies in the center of the Spratlys, has been occupied by China since late February 1988. China then started the construction of a military outpost here. The outpost had a two-meter-long wall and a helipad. From the beginning of 2014, China were seen bringing a large number of vessels, sappers and workers to the reefs in the Spratlys for construction work. On April 14, Thanh Nien reporters approached the Hughes Reef to take pictures of the illegal construction.  Like most of other buildings that China built illegally in the East Sea, the building is painted white. It has a watchtower on the right side and an antenna tower on the left. China is continuing to consolidate the land around the reef apparently for more construction work. The East Sea is known internationally as the South China Sea.  The nine-storied building that China illegal built on Tu Nghia (Hughes) Reef in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands. Photo: Trung Hieu An antenna tower on the left side of the building  A watchtower on the right side of the building  Chinese vessels regularly travel in and out the reef for construction work  A lighthouse that China built on the reef  China is still consolidating the land around the reef A Vietnamese Navy vessel patrols the East Sea By Trung Hieu, Thanh Nien News