China may be constructing an airstrip on a disputed island in the South China Sea that is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, satellite images suggest.
Pictures of Triton Island, one of the major islands in the Paracel group, appear to show the construction of a runway of more than 600 metres (2,000ft) long, according to analysis by Associated Press. This would be long enough to accommodate drones, but not fighter jets or bombers.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea, despite an international tribunal finding its arguments to be without legal basis.
Beijing has previously asserted its claims in the waters by building and fortifying islands elsewhere, constructing military facilities on the Spratly group, further to the east. Any work ongoing at Triton Island appears to be in its early stages.
The South China Sea, a strategically important waterway and one of the world’s busiest trading routes, is highly disputed and considered a major potential flashpoint. Countries including Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei all have overlapping claims, while the US considers the waters crucial to its national interests, and often carries out “freedom of navigation operations”.
Images of Triton that were captured by Planet Labs also show vehicle tracks and what appear to be containers and construction equipment. The island, the southernmost and westernmost in the Paracel group, is roughly equidistant from the coast of Vietnam and China’s island province of Hainan. It has been controlled by China since 1974.
Triton already contained small harbours and a helipad, according to the Asia Maritime Initiative. A star from the Chinese flag and a hammer and sickle representing the ruling Communist party are featured in two fields and can be seen in satellite images.
China has not provided details of its island construction projects, but maintains any work is designed to improve navigation safety and has rejected accusations that it is militarising the waterway.
Tensions over the South China Sea have increased in recent months, with another of the key claimants in the dispute, the Philippines, accusing Chinese vessels of dangerous and aggressive behaviour, including firing water cannon and a military-grade laser at its coast guard boats.
In March, the Philippines expanded US access to its military bases, enhancing Washington’s footprint in the region and enabling it to more easily monitor Chinese activity in the South China Sea near Taiwan. The Philippines has also strengthened military ties with Japan and Australia, two US allies.
