永暑礁

在永暑礁（FieryCrossReef）上，一条能起降作战飞机的3公里长跑道接近完工。一些分析人士称，这预示着中国将试图声称对这一争议水域上方的空域拥有主权。

A 3km airstrip capable of handling combat jets on Fiery Cross Reef is almost fully built , a step some analyst say may presage an attempt to claim the airspace over the disputed waters .

中国已出动先进的疏浚设备进行填海造岛，还在永暑礁（FieryCrossReef）差不多建造了一个简易机场。

China has brought in advanced dredging equipment to reclaim land and has nearly built an airstrip on one island known internationally as Fiery Cross Reef .

一年半前，斯普拉特利群岛（SpratlyIslands，中国称南沙群岛——译者注）中的永暑礁还只是一块珊瑚礁。如今，在众多高科技吹沙船的一致努力下，永暑礁已经变成一座小岛。

A year and a half ago Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands was a mere lump of coral but it is now a small island , following a concerted effort by high-tech dredging barges .

过去18个月里，中国已将包括永暑礁和约翰逊南礁在内的六七个暗礁和珊瑚环礁吹填成岛。今年4月，美国太平洋舰队司令哈里•哈里斯（HarryHarris）曾将此比作“一道沙制的长城”。

Fiery Cross and Johnson South are among just over half a dozen submerged rocks and coral atolls that China has dredged into islands in the past 18 months , an effort Harry Harris , commander of the US Pacific Fleet , likened in April to " a great wall of sand . "

该组织表示，永暑礁上可以看到两个直升机坪、多达十个卫星通信天线和一个可能是雷达塔的装置。

Two helipads , up to 10 satellite communications antennas and one possible radar tower were visible on Fiery Cross Reef , it said .

美国官员表示，他们相信永暑礁上的飞机跑道可能最终会被用作战斗机基地。一旦中国在南中国海上空划设防空识别区，这些战斗机可能会被用于该防空识别区的执法。

US officials say they believe the airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef could eventually base fighter jets that could enforce an Air Defence Identification Zone over the South China Sea , if China were to claim one .