> Former Deputy Minister of Defence, Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh "On the other hand, the position of Johnson South Reef is very important for defense and military. If a military base is built there, it will control the entire military operations in the Spratly Islands of Vietnam." Dr. Tran Cong Truc former Head of the Government Frontier Committee "Everyone knows about the important position of Johnson South Reef for defense and military. If there is a military base on the reef, it will control the entire military activities in the Spratly region of Vietnam. "

> [Source](http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/special-reports/114000/expanding-johnson-south-reef--what-is-china-s-plot-.html)

> Satellite images from late January analyzed by IHS Jane's Defence Weekly show that China is reclaiming a significant amount of land at three sites in the Spratly Islands, in addition to two other sites previously documented by the defense publication.  "Where it used to have a few, small concrete platforms, it now has full islands with helipads, airstrips, harbors, and facilities to support large numbers of troops," James Hardy, Jane's Asia Pacific editor, told CNN.

> [Source](http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/17/asia/china-south-china-sea-reclamation/)

> While the new islands won't overturn U.S. military superiority in the region, Chinese workers are building ports and fuel storage depots as well as possibly two airstrips that experts said would allow Beijing to project power deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia. "These reclamations are bigger and more ambitious than we all thought," said one Western diplomat. "On many different levels it's going to be exceptionally difficult to counter China in the South China Sea as this develops."

> [Source](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/19/us-southchinasea-reefs-china-idUSKBN0LN0J820150219)

> Magdalo Rep. Francisco Ashley Acedillo said Chinese reclamation and construction in the South China Sea region might have already changed the status quo in the disputed regional waters.  “Definitely, upon the completion of these reclamation activities by China, they would have been physically altered from reefs and shoals to habitable islands. As islands, furthermore, they are now able to host structures for military and other personnel as well as support naval and aircraft operations therein,” said Acedillo, a former military pilot. Acedillo said these Chinese built-up territories functioned as forward operating island bases that could sustain 24/7 naval and air patrols, “virtually allowing China to stake their claim to at least 80 percent or even the entire South China Sea area consistent with their nine-dash line claim.” “This will be to the detriment of the other claimants,” he said.

> [Source](http://globalnation.inquirer.net/119583/ph-losing-about-60-has-to-chinas-land-grabbing)

> A senior security official from the Philippines said on Monday that China's development and reclamation of disputed reefs in the South China Sea is part of Beijing's plan to set up an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) over the region. The official cited military research and sustained territorial monitoring, warning that China is close to gaining full control of the region

> [Source](http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20141002000028&cid=1101&MainCatID=11)

> But Custodio is sure about one thing - in a year or so, even if China does not force the Philippine military out of the West Philippine Sea, the Philippines will lose control of its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone, rendering the 9 Philippine military outposts useless and impossible to support.

> [Source](http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/focus/03/26/15/checkmate-ph-has-lost-west-ph-sea-china-analysts-say)

> Several China's Spratly Islands are several times larger than largest natural Spratly island. Woody Island largest in South China Sea but part of the Paracel Islands and not Spratly Islands, has a major military airstrip, navy harbors and a town with thousands of residents At the end of 2014, a set of aerial photos show that the size of disputed Woody Island (aka Yongxing Dao) in the South China Sea has increased by 40% since 2013, due to China's land reclamation projects on the largest of the Paracel Islands. Rocky island, located northeast of the island, has now merged with Woody island. The airstrip in the island's airport has increased its length from 2700 meters to 3000 meters and is expected to accommodate heavy carriers. China has built up significant infrastructure on Woody Island, which it calls Yongxing and which it administers under the Hainan provincial government, including building banks, post offices, grocery shops, hospitals and small department stores catering to the 1,500 residents on the island.  Fiery Cross reef has a runway that is 3300 meters long and 300 meters wide. Fiery Cross reef was reported on November 23, 2014 that the size of the reef had reached to 1.37 square km and it could become larger. Fiery Cross reef harbor can accommodate China’s largest naval vessels and an airstrip long enough (~3,300 meters) for most combat and support aircraft in the People’s Liberation Army, Navy and Air Force. In addition to enabling force projection within the nearby seas, Fiery Cross will significantly reduce the time required for PLA/N aircraft and ships to reach the Malacca Straits in the event of a blockade of this major trade artery. It can also accomodate a submarine base. Subi Reef shown in those new satellite images is estimated to be 1.4 square kilometers [140 hectares or 349 acres or 0.54 square miles], three times larger in size than it appeared in images reported on March 10. Subi Reef is a donut shape that has outer dimensions that are about 4000 meters wide by 4000 meters long. The inner harbor is about 2500 meters wide. Not all of the reef islands are getting airports. They are getting multi-story buildings, gun emplacements, radar stations and other military facilities.

> [Source](http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/03/several-chinas-spratly-islands-are.html)

> Mira Rapp-Hooper, director of the center’s Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative. The transformation of Mischief Reef, which the Chinese call Meiji Reef, she said, is within territory claimed by the Philippines and is one of seven small outposts the Chinese have sought to establish in the South China Sea. “These will allow Beijing to conduct regular, sustained patrols of the airspace and water, and to attempt to press its far-flung maritime claims as many as 1,000 miles from its shores,” she said. Although these outposts are too vulnerable for China to use in wartime, she said, “they could certainly allow it to exert significant pressure on other South China Sea claimants, such as the Philippines and Vietnam.”

> [Source](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/09/world/asia/new-images-show-china-literally-gaining-ground-in-south-china-sea.html?_r=1)

> BEIJING — China is building a concrete runway on an island in the South China Sea’s contested waters that will be capable of handling military aircraft when finished, satellite images released Thursday show. The first section of the runway appears like a piece of gray ribbon on an image taken last month of Fiery Cross Reef, part of the Spratly Islands, an archipelago claimed by at least three other countries. Adjacent to the runway, work is underway on an apron for taxiing and parking planes. The runway, which is expected to be about 10,000 feet long — enough to accommodate fighter jets and surveillance aircraft — is a game changer in the competition between the United States and China in the South China Sea, said Peter Dutton, professor of strategic studies at the Naval War College in Rhode Island. “This is a major strategic event,” Mr. Dutton said. “In order to have sea control, you need to have air control.” In time, Mr. Dutton said, China is likely to install radar and missiles that could intimidate countries like the Philippines, an American ally, and Vietnam, which also have claims to the Spratlys, as they resupply modest military garrisons in the area. More broadly, he said, China’s ability to use Fiery Cross Reef as a landing strip for fighter and surveillance aircraft will vastly expand its zone of competition with the United States in the South China Sea. The construction on Fiery Cross Reef is part of a larger Chinese reclamation project involving scores of dredgers on at least five islands in the South China Sea. China is converting tiny reefs, once barely visible above water, into islands big enough to handle military hardware, personnel and recreation facilities for workers.

> [Source](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/world/asia/china-building-airstrip-in-disputed-spratly-islands-satellite-images-show.html?_r=1)

> A spokesman for the U.S. Defense Department, Commander Bill Urban, declined to comment specifically on Poling's assessment, but repeated U.S. calls for a halt to land reclamation, construction and militarization of South China Sea outposts to "ease tensions and create space for diplomatic solutions."

> "China's stated intentions with its program, and continued construction, will not reduce tensions or lead to a meaningful diplomatic solution," he added.

> A new airstrip at Mischief Reef would be particularly worrying for the Philippines, a rival claimant in the South China Sea. It would allow China to mount "more or less constant" patrols over Reed Bank, where the Philippines has long explored for oil and gas, Poling said.

> Three airstrips, once completed, would allow China to threaten all air traffic over the features it has reclaimed in the South China Sea, he said, adding that it would be especially worrying if China were to install advanced air defenses.

> [Source](http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/09/15/china-southchinasea-airstrips-idINKCN0RE28620150915)