Tuesday, November 25, 2014

China building an artificial island large enough for an airfield

The Communists Push Deeply South

With oil and gas fields on the line,

China expands their territory.

(Daily Mail) - Chinese officials are building the first island large enough for its own airfield in the middle of disputed waters in the south sea.

Satellite images revealed that since reclaiming the Spratly Islands in August, workers have expanded one stretch of sand to make it long enough for aircraft to land and take off.

Dredgers are also creating a harbour to the east of the reef large enough to receive tankers and warships.

The 3,000m patch Fiery Cross Reef forms part of the archipelago which has been at the heart of territorial disputes for years.

This satellite image released in April 2014 showed substantial
land reclamation, harbour redevelopment, and additional
construction activity on Woody Island since October 2013.

China building an artificial island large enough for an airfield.

While the islands, named after the British sailor Richard Spratly who discovered them in 1843, lie between the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia, they are host to a plethora of military machinery and resources owned by the Republic of China.

Fears that China intended to use the archipelago as a mineral-rich installation of military bases spread when officials began reclaiming the abandoned islands in August.

While the Chinese army controls many of the 750 islets and reefs, it does not yet have its own airfield in the south China sea unlike Malaysian, Vietnamese and Filipino forces.

According to imagery obtained by independent analysis company IHS, dredging has begun on Fiery Cross Reef to create a harbour large enough for military tankers.

Johnson South Reef, Cuateron Reef, and Gaven Reefs have all been expanded on since Chinese officials reclaimed the waters earlier this year, though the Fiery Cross Reef is the only island large enough for an airfield.

Jin Zhirui, a colonel with the Chinese air force command, declined to confirm plans to build an airfield on the reef 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.

'We need support like this, including radar and intelligence.'

Chinese fighter jet buzzes U.S. navy plane

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