China Building Airstrip in Spratly Islands, Satellite Images Show
Jeremy Page, “China Building Airstrip in Spratly Islands, Satellite Images Show,” Wall Street Journal, 16 April 2015.
Move seen as step in enforcing territorial claims to disputed island group in South China Sea
BEIJING—Fresh satellite imagery released Thursday shows that China has begun building a concrete runway on reclaimed land around a disputed reef in the South China Sea, according to the defense intelligence provider IHS Jane’s.
The airstrip is China’s first in the disputed Spratly Islands, defense experts say, and it appears to be big enough for fighter jets, transport planes and surveillance aircraft, significantly enhancing Beijing’s capability to patrol the skies in the area. …
The new images, taken on March 23 by a commercial satellite division of Airbus Group, show a paved section of runway 503 meters by 53 meters on Fiery Cross Reef, according to IHS Jane’s. …
Paving and ground preparation for other sections of the runway have also begun further along Fiery Cross, which is big enough to house an airstrip about 3,000 meters long, IHS Jane’s said, adding that most Chinese air force runways are between 2,700 meters and 4,000 meters long. …
Andrew Erickson, an associate professor at the U.S. Naval War College, said a runway of that length could support operations by a wide range of Chinese aircraft, including fighters, bombers, electronic intercept, airborne early-warning and tanker aircraft.
“While logistically demanding, forward deployment of such aircraft could support serious patrols of the southern South China Sea in a way that China would previously have found operationally taxing,” he said. “It could also offer new deterrence and war-fighting options, particularly in a region with few formidable air forces.” …
