China Called Build Runway On South China Sea Island

PHOTO OF ILLUSTRATION/UNSPLASH+/Shanghai, China

JAKARTA - China is said to be building a runway on a disputed island in the South China Sea, a Hong Kong newspaper reported on Friday based on satellite images.

The South China Morning Post newspaper said the construction of the 630 meter long runway was seen last month on Triton Island, part of the disputed Paracel Islands. The development was revealed in satellite photos taken by the European Space Agency.

Reported by ANTARA from Kyodo-OANA, Friday, August 18, Triton Island, the island, which is in the southernmost and westernmost Paracel Islands, has been under Chinese control since 1974. The Paracel Islands have also been claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

Vietnamese and Chinese authorities have not responded to requests for comment, according to a newspaper report.

However, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin, at a press conference, defended the construction of a runway on the island, saying Triton Island is part of an inseparable territory with China.

He said what Beijing had done on the island was in line with international law.

China and Vietnam were involved in a territorial dispute over the South China Sea. In April, Beijing opened a restaurant selling hot dishes on Woody Island, the largest island in the Paracel Islands, sparking criticism from Hanoi.

China has also built a runway in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, which is also an area claimed by Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei.