WASHINGTON (Reuters) --- Satellite
images show 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 construction
has stoked concern that China may be converting disputed territory in the
mineral-rich archipelago into military installations, adding to tensions waters
also 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, which it noted is "large enough to construct a runway and
apron."
The building work
flies in the face of U.S.
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 them.
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.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment