China has nearly completed a military-length runway on one of the artificial islands it has built in the disputed South China Sea, according to satellite photos published by a maritime monitoring group.
The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) , which is affiliated with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says China continues to pave and mark the 3,000-meter airstrip, which analysts say is capable of accommodating any plane in China's air force fleet.
Additional military facilities - including two helipads, up to 10 satellite communications antennas, and a possible radar tower - are also being built on the Fiery Cross Reef, said the group's online report.
The reef is one of seven locations in the Spratly Islands where China is reclaiming land.