China Airstrip

For India, the Indian Ocean maritime space is indeed critical, and while troubled ties with the Maldives underscore a temporary setback, New Delhi's options are not limited.

China has been expanding facilities in the islands under its control encouraging population settlements in the area, where Beijing also built artificial islands some with facilities for garrison as well as airstrip reinforcing its control over the area.

A plane veered off the runway at Hong Kong airport Wednesday after heavy rain lashed the area, forcing the temporary closure of the airstrip and delaying scores of flights.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju today dedicated to the nation the Pasighat Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) in Arunachal Pradesh which will allow fighter aircrafts like the Su 30 MKI to land and take off, giving a major fillip to India's military capabilities along its border with China.

Two civilian jets landed on the airstrip of a new island China built in the South China Sea, drawing more protests over China's activities in disputed waters.

Vietnam formally accused China of violating its sovereignty and a recent confidence-building pact on Saturday by landing a plane on an airstrip Beijing has built on an artificial island in a contested part of the South China Sea.

China's campaign of island building in the South China Sea might soon quadruple the number of airstrips available to the People's Liberation Army in the highly contested and strategically vital region.

China's apparent construction of a third airstrip on its man-made islands in the disputed South China Sea could fill a gap in Beijing's anti-submarine defences, complicating operations for the US Navy and its allies, Chinese and Western experts said.

China appears to be building a third airstrip in contested territory in the South China Sea, a US expert said on Monday, citing satellite photographs taken last week.

Beijing could be preparing to build a second 3,000-metre airstrip on an artificial island in the disputed South China Sea, a Washington-based think-tank said.

Indian and Chinese military commanders today met at one of the highest airstrips in the world, Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) in Ladakh, making it the fifth border meeting point between the two sides.

A 3,000-metre (9,800-foot) airstrip Beijing is building on a reef in disputed waters in the South China Sea, where tensions are mounting with its neighbours, is "nearly complete", a US think-tank said.

China has almost finished building a 3,000-metre-long (10,000-foot) airstrip on one of its artificial islands in the disputed Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea, new satellite photographs of the area show.

Chinese island-building efforts in the disputed South China Sea, where airstrips are being built on coral reefs, risk undermining "peace, security and stability" in the region, Southeast Asian leaders warned at a regional summit on Monday.

Recent satellite images published on Thursday show China has made rapid progress in building an airstrip suitable for military use in contested territory in the South China Sea's Spratly Islands and may be planning another, moves that have been greeted with concern in the United States and Asia.

For India, the Indian Ocean maritime space is indeed critical, and while troubled ties with the Maldives underscore a temporary setback, New Delhi's options are not limited.

China has been expanding facilities in the islands under its control encouraging population settlements in the area, where Beijing also built artificial islands some with facilities for garrison as well as airstrip reinforcing its control over the area.

A plane veered off the runway at Hong Kong airport Wednesday after heavy rain lashed the area, forcing the temporary closure of the airstrip and delaying scores of flights.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju today dedicated to the nation the Pasighat Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) in Arunachal Pradesh which will allow fighter aircrafts like the Su 30 MKI to land and take off, giving a major fillip to India's military capabilities along its border with China.

Two civilian jets landed on the airstrip of a new island China built in the South China Sea, drawing more protests over China's activities in disputed waters.

Vietnam formally accused China of violating its sovereignty and a recent confidence-building pact on Saturday by landing a plane on an airstrip Beijing has built on an artificial island in a contested part of the South China Sea.

China's campaign of island building in the South China Sea might soon quadruple the number of airstrips available to the People's Liberation Army in the highly contested and strategically vital region.

China's apparent construction of a third airstrip on its man-made islands in the disputed South China Sea could fill a gap in Beijing's anti-submarine defences, complicating operations for the US Navy and its allies, Chinese and Western experts said.

China appears to be building a third airstrip in contested territory in the South China Sea, a US expert said on Monday, citing satellite photographs taken last week.

Beijing could be preparing to build a second 3,000-metre airstrip on an artificial island in the disputed South China Sea, a Washington-based think-tank said.

Indian and Chinese military commanders today met at one of the highest airstrips in the world, Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) in Ladakh, making it the fifth border meeting point between the two sides.

A 3,000-metre (9,800-foot) airstrip Beijing is building on a reef in disputed waters in the South China Sea, where tensions are mounting with its neighbours, is "nearly complete", a US think-tank said.

China has almost finished building a 3,000-metre-long (10,000-foot) airstrip on one of its artificial islands in the disputed Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea, new satellite photographs of the area show.

Chinese island-building efforts in the disputed South China Sea, where airstrips are being built on coral reefs, risk undermining "peace, security and stability" in the region, Southeast Asian leaders warned at a regional summit on Monday.

Recent satellite images published on Thursday show China has made rapid progress in building an airstrip suitable for military use in contested territory in the South China Sea's Spratly Islands and may be planning another, moves that have been greeted with concern in the United States and Asia.