Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

0

  • Work on this object ended.

2014

  • Work on this object began.

2022

2025

  • You found it!

Project, Island Tracker, 2014-ongoing

This is a Project. It was designed by Center for Strategic and International Studies. It is dated 2014-ongoing. It is a part of the department.

East and South China Seas

Island Tracker is an innovative, public-facing online tool, part of the Center’s Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative that uses easily attained commercial satellite imagery to record activity in the South China Seas—one of the world’s most disputed waterways. The Tracker documents artificial island building and construction projects, such as new airstrips and ports, in the almost 70 disputed reefs and islands to which China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam lay claim. By increasing transparency in these remote locations, the tracker helps to prevent miscalculations and discourages assertive behavior, instead generating opportunities for collective actions that support regional stability.

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Designing Peace.

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<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/2318806226/ |title=Project, Island Tracker, 2014-ongoing |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=14 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>