CSIS’s Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) has obtained exclusive never-before-seen imagery of China’s building and land reclamation efforts in the Spratly Islands, a highly contested area in the South China Sea. One area of note for East Asia watchers for some time has been Fiery Cross Reef shown above:
- Controlled by China, which garrisons approximately 200 PLA troops and has radar and surveillance capabilities
- Active land reclamation began in August 2014, although activity around the reef commenced three months prior
- Between August and November, Chinese dredgers created a land mass that spans the entire existing reef and is approximately 3,000 meters long and 200-300 meters wide
- Photos taken by Digital Globe indicate that Chinese reclamation has increased the area of Fiery Cross Reef 11 times over, growing it from .08 square kilometers to .96 square kilometers
- Fiery Cross may now be more than three times larger than Itu Aba, formerly the largest of the Spratlys
- Analysts believe that China may also be constructing an airstrip on Fiery Cross
To read more of Dr. Mira Rapp-Hooper’s analysis and to see before/after aerial shots of additional South China Sea construction visit CSIS Asia Program’s micro-site AMTI.
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