New satellite images analysed by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) have suggested that China is building a third airstrip in the disputed waters of South China Sea.
According to CNN, the images were seen after China pledged to bring land reclamation activities in South China Sea to a halt.
Greg Poling, the director of CSIS' Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, said that China had reclaimed a flat rectangle of land with a retaining wall about 3,000 meters in length on Mischief Reef.
He said China will have three airstrips that can carry any plane the PLA has to offer if it does turn out to be a runway.