Airstrip on Spratly Islands is for 'supply and maintenance only': Chinese ambassador

Cui Tiankai, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, said on Thursday that China was building its first airstrip on the Spratly Islands only to provide supply and maintenance for passing ships.

The comments, made in Washington during a speech organised by the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, were made following the release of images provided by Airbus Defence and Space that showed China building a runway on reclaimed parts of Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands.

Cui told the International Conference on China-US Cooperation in Global Security Affairs that the construction aimed to improve the "functionality" of the reefs and provide services for China and its neighbours.

He said that such services would include providing shelter, aiding navigation, search and rescue, marine meteorological forecasting and fishery services.

Cui said that if the reef facilities had no defence capabilities, they would not be able to provide these services.

China has been turning Fiery Cross Reef, which it contests with the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Brunei, into an island since late 2014.