It appears that China is building an airstrip on a disputed island in the South China Sea

BEIJING (AP) — China appears to be building an airstrip on a disputed island in the South China Sea that is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, according to satellite images analyzed by the Associated Press.

The work on Triton Island in the Paracel Group mirrors the construction on seven man-made islands in the Spratly Group to the east which have been equipped with airstrips, docks and military systems, although they currently appear to be much more modest in size.

China claims nearly the entire South China Sea as its own, denying the claims of others and defying an international ruling that invalidates its assertion.

Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by the Associated Press show construction work on the airstrip that first appeared in early August. The runway, as currently planned, will be more than 600 meters (2,000 feet) in length, long enough to accommodate helicopters and drones, but not fighter jets or bombers.

Large numbers of vehicle tracks running through most of the island are also visible, along with what appear to be containers and construction equipment.

Triton is one of the main islands of the Paracel group, located approximately equidistant from the coast of Vietnam and the Chinese island province of Hainan.

The United States takes no position on sovereignty claims, but regularly sends naval vessels on “freedom of navigation operations” near Chinese-controlled islands. Triton was the focus of one of those missions in 2018.

China has had a small port and buildings on the island for years, along with a helipad and a radar array. Two large fields on the island have a star from the Chinese flag and a hammer and sickle representing the ruling Communist Party.

China has refused to provide details of its island-building work other than to say it is intended to help the safety of global navigation. It has rejected accusations that it is militarizing the vital waterway, through which an estimated $5 trillion in trade passes annually, and says it has the right to do whatever it wants on its sovereign territory.

China captured all of the Paracels from Vietnam in a brief naval dispute in 1974.

___

Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell contributed to this report from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.