PHOTOS: China’s Military Base in Spratly Islands Aerial View

Aerial photos obtained by the Philippine Daily Inquirer of Spratlys in the West Philippine Sea show that China is almost complete transforming the archipelago into an island fortress.

The Spratly Islands are a disputed group of islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). The archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines, Malaysia, and southern Vietnam. Named after the 19th-century British whaling captain Richard Spratly who sighted Spratly Island in 1843, the islands contain less than 2 km² of naturally occurring land area spread over an area of more than 425,000 km².

More photos: EXCLUSIVE: New photos show China is nearly done with its militarization of South China Sea