Satellite images of Triton Island, an island in the Paracel group that is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, suggest construction of a runway almost 2,000 feet long, analysts say.
The strategically important South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest trade routes, has emerged as an increasing flashpoint between Washington and Beijing, playing host to a sprawling set of incidents as tensions between the two superpowers have risen in recent years.
The runway there would be long enough to accommodate small aircraft and drones but not bombers or fighter jets, the AP reported. Shipping containers and a helipad have also emerged on the island, which is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.China, which by some measures has the world’s largest navy, claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea despite a landmark 2016 ruling by an international tribunal that its claims have no legal basis. Its stance has antagonized a number of countries in the region with which it has territorial disputes.
Triton Island, which China has controlled since 1974, is the westernmost and southernmost point of the Paracels, almost the same distance from the Vietnamese coast and China’s island province of Hainan.“It is the closest of the Paracel Islands to the coastline of Vietnam,” he said. “It is China building on an island Vietnam claims — they will see it as one more threat to Vietnam’s security.”
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