The U.S. has protested China's new construction project that involves building an airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef in a disputed area of the South China Sea.

IHS Jane's, a leading defense publication, earlier said it has obtained new satellite imagery showing major changes in the topography of Fiery Cross reef in the contested Spratly Islands. The leading defense publication said Chinese dredges in the past three months have created a land mass that is now almost as long as the whole reef.

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Among four reclamation projects in the area that China is building, the publication said this Fiery Cross project is the largest.

Aside from the airstrip, which could be 3,000 meters long, the dredges are also creating a seaport east of the reef that appear large enough to receive major surface combat ships and even tankers. The reef was previously underwater except for a concrete platform housing a small Chinese navy garrison.

On Friday, a U.S. military spokesman said the land reclamation project on Fiery Cross Reef is only one of several being pursued by China, but this is the first that could accommodate an airstrip.

 "We urge China to stop its land reclamation program, and engage in diplomatic initiatives to encourage all sides to restrain themselves in these sorts of activities," Pentagon spokesman Lt. Colonel Jeffrey Pool told the French wire service AFP.

Beijing has repeatedly ignored U.S. protests about the build-up in the South China Sea, saying it can build whatever it wants in the territory. 

The Spratly Islands, situated between Vietnam and the Philippines, are being claimed by Brunei, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines aside from China.

When the Philippines complained in June about reclamation work being done by Chinese dredges on three other reefs in the Spratlys, China's foreign ministry responded by saying "any action taken by China in the area falls within China's sovereignty and has nothing to do with the Philippines."