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 The photographs taken for Washington's Center for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS) think tank on Sept. 8 show construction
on Mischief Reef, one of seven artificial islands China has created
in the Spratly archipelago.
The images show a retaining wall around an area 3,000 meters (3,280
yards) long, matching similar work by China on two other reefs in
the Spratlys, Subi and Fiery Cross, said Greg Poling, director of
CSIS's Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI).
Poling said the work "more likely than not indicates preparations
for a runway" on the reef.
Satellite photographs from late June showed China had almost
finished a 3,000-meter airstrip on Fiery Cross.
Poling said other satellite photos from last week showed work was
advancing at Subi Reef, where "clearly, what we have seen is going
to be a 3,000-meter airstrip and we have seen some more work on what
is clearly going to be some port facilities for ships."
Asked about Mischief Reef on Monday, China's Foreign Ministry
spokesman Hong Lei repeated China's claim to "indisputable
sovereignty" over the Spratly islands and its right to establish
military facilities there.
Security experts say 3,000-meter airstrips would be long enough to
accommodate most Chinese military aircraft, giving Beijing greater
reach into the heart of maritime Southeast Asia, where it has
competing claims with several countries.
News of the advancing work comes ahead of a visit to Washington next
week by Chinese President Xi Jinping. U.S. worries about China's
increasingly assertive territorial claims are expected to be high on
the agenda. A spokesman for the U.S. Defense Department, Commander
Bill Urban, declined to comment specifically on Poling's assessment,
but repeated U.S. calls for a halt to land reclamation, construction
and militarization of South China Sea outposts to "ease tensions and
create space for diplomatic solutions."
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"China's stated intentions with its program, and continued
construction, will not reduce tensions or lead to a meaningful
diplomatic solution," he added.
A new airstrip at Mischief Reef would be particularly worrying for
the Philippines, a rival claimant in the South China Sea. It would
allow China to mount "more or less constant" patrols over Reed Bank,
where the Philippines has long explored for oil and gas, Poling
said.
Three airstrips, once completed, would allow China to threaten all
air traffic over the features it has reclaimed in the South China
Sea, he said, adding that it would be especially worrying if China
were to install advanced air defenses.
The Philippine government had no immediate comment.
China stepped up creation of artificial islands in the South China
Sea last year, drawing strong criticism from Washington.
(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing and Manuel Mogato
in Manila; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Christian Plumb and Dean
Yates)
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China
appears to be working on third airstrip on disputed South China Sea
islets: expert
