In this photo released by China state news outfit Xinhua, a Hainan Airlines plane takes off at the airfield on Fiery Cross Reef (Kagitingan Reef in the Philippines) in the South China Sea on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. Xinhua/Jin Liwang
MANILA, Philippines — China continued on Wednesday its test flights over the South China Sea, landing two civilian planes on one of its man-made islands built atop of Philippine-claimed maritime feature Kagitingan (Fiery Cross) Reef.
The Chinese Ministry of National Defense reported Thursday that Beijing conducted two more “successful” flights—of a China Southern Airlines aircraft and a Hainan Airlines plane—on a newly-built airfield on the reef.
The aircraft took off from the Meilan Airport of Haikou, capital of Hainan Province, landed at the airfield on Kagitingan Reef of the Kalayaan island group at 10:21 a.m. and 10:46 a.m., respectively, on Wednesday. China calls the reef Yongshu Jiao