By Victor Robert Lee
A new helicopter base is seen for the first time at Duncan Island in the South China Sea.
Satellite images show dredging and land filling by China at two new sites in the South China Sea, both in the Amphitrite group of the Paracel Islands, approximately 15 kilometers north-northwest of China’s military base at Woody (Yongxing) Island.
Also newly visible is a helicopter base under construction at Duncan Island, another site in the Paracels, suggesting that Beijing may develop a network of bases in the South China Sea to support anti-submarine warfare helicopters, such as its recently deployed ASW Z-18F.
The most recent dredging, which began sometime after December 2, 2015, is creating new terrain on the reef adjacent to North Island, held by the PRC since 1950. 5.5 kilometers northwest of North Island, at China-occupied Tree Island, a cutter suction dredger can be seen expanding a port area and piping sediment onto a new area of land fill. A series of satellite images indicates that the dredging at Tree Island began sometime after October 18, 2015.
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