A Chinese military aircraft has landed at a new airport on an island China has built in the disputed South China Sea, state media said on last Monday, in the first public report on a move that raises the prospect of China basing warplanes there.
据中国官方媒体上周一报道，一架中国军用飞机首次降落在南海有争议地区岛屿的新建机场上。这一首次公开报道的降落行动，引起了中国有可能在那里部署战斗机的猜测。
The United States has criticized China's construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea and worries that it plans to use them for military purposes, even though China says it has no hostile intent.
美国曾对中国在南海建造人工岛提出指责，并担心中方打算将这些人工岛用作军事用途，尽管中方表示建岛并没有敌对意图。
The runway on the Fiery Cross Reef is 3,000 meters long and is one of three China has been building for more than a year by dredging sand up onto reefs and atolls in the Spratly archipelago. Civilian flights began test runs there in January.
据悉，永暑礁上的飞机跑道全长3000米，是中国在过去一年多里，通过往海礁和珊瑚岛上填沙，在南沙群岛修建的三条机场跑道之一。民用飞机已于今年一月份试飞。
In a front-page story, the official People's Liberation Army Daily said a military aircraft on patrol over the South China Sea on Sunday received an emergency call to land at Fiery Cross Reef to evacuate three seriously ill workers.
《解放军日报》在头版醒目位置表示，一架正在南海执行空中巡逻任务的海军巡逻机17日接到紧急任务，降落在永暑礁机场，以营救三名重病工人。
They were then taken in the transport aircraft back to Hainan island for treatment, it said, showing a picture of the aircraft on the ground in Hainan.
报道指出，三名重病工人随后被转运至海南的医院中接受救治。该报道还配上了海军巡逻机转运伤员抵达海南机场的照片。
It was the first time China's military had publicly admitted landing an aircraft on Fiery Cross Reef, the influential Global Times tabloid said. It cited an military expert as saying the flight showed the airfield was up to military standards and could see fighter jets based there in the event of war.
据富有影响力的《环球时报》小报称，这是中国军方首次公开让军机在永暑礁上降落。报道援引一位军事专家的话称，此次试飞表明该机场达到了军用标准，在发生战争的情况下，中国可以把战斗机部署到那里。
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said such rescue missions were part of the military's "fine tradition" and that it was "not at all surprising" they had done this on China's own territory.
中国外交部发言人陆慷表示，此类营救行动是中国军队的优良传统，在中国领土上完成此项任务，无需“大惊小怪”。
The runways would be long enough to handle long-range bombers and transport aircraft as well as China's best jet fighters, giving it a presence deep in the maritime heart of Southeast Asia that it has lacked until now.
永暑礁的机场跑道足够长，可以满足远程轰炸机、运输机以及中国最好的战斗机的需求，这使得中国在东南亚海上通道的心脏区域拥有了军事存在--这是此前我国一直缺乏的。