China is building an island on a reef in the disputed Spratly Islands
large enough to accommodate what could be its first offshore airstrip in
the South China Sea, a leading defense publication said on Friday.
The satellite images showing the construction has stoked concern that
China may be converting disputed territory in the mineral-rich
archipelago into military installations, adding tension in the region
with territories being claimed by Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Vietnam and Brunei.
IHS Jane’s said images it had obtained showed the Chinese-built
island on the Fiery Cross Reef to be at least 3,000 meters (1.9 miles)
long and 200-300 meters (660-980 ft) wide, “large enough to construct a
runway and apron.”
The building work flies in the face of US calls for a freeze in
provocative activity in the South China Sea, one of Asia’s biggest
security issues. Concern is growing about an escalation in disputes even
as claimants work to establish a code of conduct to resolve territorial
issues.
Dredgers were also creating a harbor to the east of the reef “that
would appear to be large enough to receive tankers and major surface
combatants,” it said.
Asked about the report at a defense forum in Beijing on Saturday, Jin
Zhirui, a colonel with the Chinese air force command, declined to
confirm it but said China needed to build facilities in the South China
Sea for strategic reasons.
“We need to go out, to make our contribution to regional and global
peace,” Jin said. “We need support like this, including radar and
intelligence.”
The land reclamation project was China’s fourth in the Spratly
Islands in the last 12 to 18 months and by far the largest, IHS Jane’s
said.
It said Fiery Cross Reef was home to a Chinese garrison and had a
pier, air-defense guns, anti-frogmen defenses, communications equipment,
and a greenhouse.
Beijing has rejected Washington’s call for all parties to halt
activity in the disputed waters to ease tension, saying it can build
whatever its wants in the South China Sea.
Hong Kong media have reported that China plans to build an air base
on Fiery Cross Reef. In August, the deputy head of the Chinese Foreign
Ministry’s Boundary and Ocean Affairs Departments said he was unaware of
any such plans.
