Images indicate China airstrip on Spratly island nearly finished

http://atimes.com/2015/07/images-indicate-china-airstrip-on-spratly-island-nearly-finished/

Images indicate China airstrip on Spratly island nearly finished
By AT Editor on July 2, 2015

China has almost finished building a 3,000-meter-long (10,000-foot) airstrip on one of its artificial islands in the disputed Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea, new satellite photographs of the area show.

A U.S. military commander had said in May that the airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef could be operational by year-end, although the June 28 images suggest that could now be sooner.

The airstrip will be long enough to accommodate most Chinese military aircraft, security experts have said, giving Beijing greater reach into the heart of maritime Southeast Asia.

China said on Tuesday some of its land reclamation in the Spratlys, where it’s building seven islands on top of coral reefs, had been completed, although it gave few details.