Fiery Cross Reef

On 12 July 2016, the tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration concluded that Fiery Cross Reef contains, within the meaning of Article 121(1) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), naturally formed areas of land, surrounded by water, which are above water at high tide. However, for purposes of Article 121(3) of UNCLOS, the high-tide features at Fiery Cross Reef are "rocks that cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own and accordingly shall be entitled to 12 nautical miles of territorial sea measured from its baseline but have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf".[11]

In March 1987, China submitted the name of 'Yongshu Jiao' to a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization/Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (UNESCO/IOC) meeting as a possible location for a monitoring station as part of the Global Sea Level Observing System (GLOSS) survey.[12] The scientists, unaware of the location of 'Yongshu Jiao' included the feature on a list of sites for tide gauges on what the PRC considered to be its coasts in the East China Sea and on the "Nansha islands" in South China Sea. The scientists were unaware of regional political disputes, including Taiwanese territorial claims to, and occupation of, one of the Spratly Islands.[13]

In April 1987, the PRC chose Fiery Cross Reef as the site to build a weather station, as the reef was large enough for the purpose, and it was isolated from other disputed islands and reefs. However, this caused further skirmishes with Vietnam when, in January 1988, some Vietnamese ships with construction materials tried to approach the reef in a bid to establish structures there.[5]

Construction was commenced in February 1988 and completed in August 1988.[14]

Fiery Cross Reef being transformed, May 2015

During 2014, the PRC government began land reclamation activities to construct a large artificial island to support an approximately 3,300 meters (10,800 ft) airstrip, a seaport and a military base.[15][16][17]

Although the PRC has a 3,000-meter (9,800 ft) runway on Woody Island in the Paracels, it had been at a disadvantage compared with other claimants of areas of the South China Sea as it was the only claimant that did not have an airfield in the Spratly Islands. As of January 2016, the PRC has reclaimed land on seven reefs and built three runways within the Spratly Islands. The runway on Fiery Cross was completed in January 2016 and is the southernmost of the three (the others being at Mischief and Subi reefs).[18][19] The PRC test-landed two civilian aircraft there in January 2016, one from China Southern Airlines and the other from Hainan Airlines.[20][21]

The People's Liberation Army Daily reported that a Chinese military jet had made a public landing there in April 2016.[22] It has been asserted that other PRC military aircraft, including jet fighters, have been observed there since April 2016.

In late 2016, photographs emerged which suggested that Fiery Cross Reef has been armed with anti-aircraft weapons and a CIWS missile-defense system.[23]

• Great wall of sand
• Mischief Reef
• Nine-dash line
• Subi Reef

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fiery Cross Reef.

• Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative Island Tracker