China appears to be
flexing its considerable military muscle, building a massive island that could
host an airstrip in an area of the South China Sea that has become a source of
regional tension over disputed territorial claims.
IHS Jane’s said
satellite imagery it obtained showed that in the past three months Chinese
dredges have created a land mass that is almost the entire length of Fiery
Cross Reef in the contested Spratly Islands.
The leading defense publication
reported Thursday that the satellite pictures also showed the dredges are
creating a seaport east of the reef that would appear to be large enough to
receive tankers and major surface combatants.
The Spratly Islands are a
collection of islands, reefs and shoals between Vietnam and the Philippines.
Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have all staked
claims to the islands.
A U.S. military spokesman said
Friday the land reclamation project on Fiery Cross Reef is one of several
pursued by China but the first that could accommodate an airstrip.
“It appears that’s what they’re
working towards,” Lt. Colonel Jeffery Pool told Agence France-Presse.
The U.S. opposes the Chinese
land-grab and wants other governments to refrain from doing the same.
“We urge China to stop its land
reclamation program, and engage in diplomatic initiatives to encourage all
sides to restrain themselves in these sorts of activities,” Pool told the
French wire service.
Reuters said
the construction has stoked concern China may be turning the disputed islands
into military installations, further exacerbating tensions.
Reuters also said Beijing has
ignored the U.S. protests, saying it can build whatever it wants in the South
China Sea.
IHS Jane’s said the new island
is nearly two miles long and two-tenths of mile wide. The reef was previously
underwater except for a concrete platform built by China’s navy to house a
small garrison with air-defense guns.
“The land reclamation at Fiery
Cross is the fourth such project undertaken by China in the Spratly Islands in
the last 12-18 months and by far the largest in scope,” HIS Jane’s said.
“Given its massive military
advantage, this new islands appears purpose-built to coerce other claimants
into relinquishing their claims and possessions, or at least provide China with
a much stronger negotiating position if talks over the dispute were ever held,”
the publication said.
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