Images show rapid Chinese progress on new South China Sea airstrip

[WorldNews]

By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Recent satellite images published on Thursday show China has made rapid progress in building an airstrip suitable for military use in contested territory in the South China Sea's Spratly Islands and may be planning another, moves that have been greeted with concern in the United States and Asia. IHS Jane's Defense Weekly said March 23 images provided by Airbus Defence and Space showed work on the runway on reclaimed parts of Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly archipelago, which China contests with the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. The report said other images suggested China was working to extend another airstrip to that length in the Paracel Islands further north in the South China Sea. The report comes a day after the U.S. military commander for Asia, Admiral Samuel Locklear, said China could eventually deploy radar and missile systems on outposts it is building in the South China Sea that could be used to enforce an exclusion zone should China move to declare one.

 

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