An aerial view of the Fiery Cross Reef, now a 2.8 sq km artificial island. Photo: CCTV
Asia Times: In pictures: The South China Sea reef that became an island
Fiery Cross Reef has been transformed into a 2.8 sq km fortified airbase, in one of the several reclamation projects known as the Great Wall of Sand.
China’s frenzied reclamation projects in the South China Sea have dramatically changed reefs and islets in the hotly contested waters.
Fiery Cross Reef – known also as Northwest Investigator Reef and Yongshu Reef to the Chinese – ballooned from a group of scattered reefs in the Spratly Islands to a 2.8-square-kilometer fortification, which is now reportedly the third largest island in the vast waters.
In a year-end feature, Chinese state broadcaster China Central Television aired rare aerial footage of Fiery Cross Reef, which has been transformed into a big island dominated by a 3,125-meter runway, long enough for H-6K strategic bombers to land.
It also has a hospital, plus military installations that include early warning radars and close-proximity weapons systems.
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WNU Editor: China is telegraphing to all of its neighbors that they are not only going to stay in the region, but will use these massive military bases to enforce their territorial claims.
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