Beijing: China appears to be constructing an airstrip on a disputed South China Sea island that is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, according to satellite photos analysed by The Associated Press.
The work on Triton island in the Paracel group mirrors construction on seven human-made islands in the Spratly group to the east which have been equipped with airstrips, docks and military systems, although it currently appears to be somewhat more modest in scale.
The airstrip and adjacent infrastructure on Triton Island, which China claims as its own.Credit: Planet Labs/AP
China claims virtually the entire South China Sea as its own, denying the claims of others and defying an international ruling invalidating its assertion.
Satellite photos from Planet Labs analysed by the AP show construction on the airstrip first visible in early August. News website The Drive first reported on the satellite images on Tuesday.
The runway, as currently laid out, would be more than 600 metres in length, long enough to accommodate turboprop aircraft and drones, but not fighter jets or bombers.
Also visible are large numbers of vehicle tracks running across much of the island, along with what appear to be containers and construction equipment.
Triton is one of the major islands in the Paracels, which is roughly equidistant from the coast of Vietnam and China’s island province of Hainan.
The United States takes no stance on the sovereignty claims, but regularly sends Navy ships on “freedom of navigation operations” near Chinese-held islands. Triton was the focus of one of those missions in 2018.
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