China is currently building hangars hardened against bomb attacks for its military aircraft at Fiery Cross, Subi and Mischief Reefs in the South China Sea as can be seen in new satellite photos made public by an American think tank based in Washington D.C.

These reefs are part of the Spratly Islands China continues to illegally occupy in violation of a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on July 12 that concluded China has no legal basis to claim historic rights within its unfounded "nine-dash line" in the South China Sea. China seized these reefs from the Philippines.

Like Us on Facebook

Chinese President Xi Jinping in September 2015 told U.S. President Barack Obama "China does not intend to pursue militarization" in the Spratlys. The latest satellite photos of China's continuing militarization belies that claim.

The photos from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) show the construction of what seems to be hardened aircraft hangars at the three reefs. An analysis by CSIS, however, says the hangars on all three islets have room for "any fighter-jet in the People's Liberation Army Air Force."

The photos also show a larger type of hangar on the islets that can accommodate either the Xian H-6 strategic bomber; the H-6U aerial tanker (a modified H-6); the Shaanxi KJ200 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft and the Shaanxi Y-8 medium-range transport.

China claims the hangars are for civilian aircraft for nonmilitary use but CSISsays its satellite photos strongly suggest otherwise. CSIS said the smallest hangars are 60 to 70 feet wide, more than enough to accommodate China's largest jet fighters. All the hangars show signs of structural strengthening that might make them harder to destroy.

Evidence of the military hangars surfaced a month after the PCA's decision declaring illegal China's claim to own the South China Sea. The PCA's ruling in the case filed by the Philippines has been hailed as a "sweeping victory" against China.

Tagschina, Fiery Cross, Mischief Reef, Subi Reef, Center for Strategic and International Studies, spratly islands, aircraft hangars, Xi Jinping