CHINA-SOUTH CHINA SEA: MILITARY CONSTRUCTION

 According to an analysis by IHS Jane’s based on satellite imagery from Airbus Defense and Space, China has begun construction of a military-length runway along the Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands in the disputed South China Sea. As of March 23, China had begun paving sections of the runway in the northeast of the island. An apron, where planes could park, was also paved at the end of the construction.


According to Jane’s, the reef will be capable of holding a runway 3,000 metres long. Military runways in China range from 2,700 metres to 4,000 metres long.

Additional Airbus imagery shows that China is also dredging three new islands on the Subei Reef within the Spratly Islands.  This is in addition to a recently constructed 3,000-meter runway at Woody Island, on the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.
 






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