China has built an airstrip and cement plant on Triton Island in the South China Sea, as shown by new satellite imagery published by the Drive on August 15. Since Triton lies within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone, the move is regarded as yet another step in China’s illegal militarization of this key oceanic region.

• China built harbors and a helipad on Triton in previous years.
• The recent developments occurred in less than two months’ time.
• At 2,000 feet in length, the new airstrip has military implications.
• Though too short for most fighter jets, it could accommodate drones and turbopro aircraft.
• Since 2013, China has built and militarized at least six islands in the South China Sea.
• Thousands of People’s Liberation Army troops are stationed at these locations.

China’s provocations are fueling tensions in the South China Sea, a mineral- and energy-rich region that is home to key trade routes.

If Asia were an apartment complex, China would be that one neighbor who doesn’t get along with anyone, the one with a reputation for misbehavior, the one known to cause tension and discord, the one who does not respect boundaries.
—Palki Sharma, Firstpost managing editor

Heading toward war: In a 2016 article titled “China Is Steering the World Toward War,” Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote: “Now that U.S. military presence in the area has been drastically reduced, China is claiming the entire South China Sea as its own!”

He continued:

Since [the end of] World War ii, America protected this vital trade route and brought peace to this part of the world. Now the American military is retreating, and other great powers are coming in to fill the vacuum. … China is intimidating the nations of Southeast Asia into submission to its will. It is forcing these countries to do what it wants. Everything is headed in the direction of war.