According to satellite images reviewed by The Associated Press, China appears to be building an airstrip on a disputed South China Sea island also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.
Triton Island: South China Sea
The development on Triton Island in the Paracel group appears to be on a smaller scale than the work on seven man-made islands in the Spratly group to the east, which have been outfitted with airstrips, docks, and military equipment. China claims practically the whole South China Sea as its own, dismissing competing claims and disregarding an international judgement that invalidates its claim.
The Runway would be more than 600 metres (2,000 feet) long, long enough to accommodate turboprop planes and drones but not fighter jets or bombers. There are also numerous vehicle tracks visible across much of the island, as well as what appear to be containers and construction equipment.
About Triton Island: South China Sea
Triton is a prominent island in the Paracel group, which is located nearly equidistant from the coasts of Vietnam and China’s island province of Hainan.
Increase Chinese Presence in the South China Sea
The US takes no position on the sovereignty claims but sends Navy ships on “freedom of navigation operations” near the Chinese-held islands on a regular basis. In 2018, Triton was the target of one of these missions. For years, China has had a small harbour and structures on the island, as well as a helipad and radar arrays. Two vast fields on the island bear a Chinese flag star and a hammer and sickle symbolising the ruling Communist Party.
China has declined to reveal information about its island construction project, other than to declare that it is intended to improve worldwide navigation safety. It has denied charges of militarising the vital waterway, through which an estimated $5 trillion in trade passes each year, and claims the right to do whatever it wants in its sovereign territory. In a brief naval skirmish in 1974, China took complete control of the Paracels from Vietnam.
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