To strengthen its presence in the disputed South China Sea, China is expanding its runway and redeveloping a harbor on Woody Island, the largest of the Paracel Islands, which are claimed variously by Vietnam, China and Taiwan, the London-based Jane's International Defence Review reported on Aug. 29.
Known in China as Yongxing Island, Woody Island was occupied by the People's Liberation Army in 1956, although it had previously been occupied by the Republic of China from 1946 to 1950, before going unmanned for six years. Facilities including a military garrison, coastal defensive positions, a runway, four large aircraft hangars, a communications facility, and municipal headquarters have since been established on the island, which is now the government seat of Sansha, set up in 2012 to administer the Paracels, Spratlys and Macclesfield Bank. The entire territory is disputed.
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