PLA marines march past a monument in the Chinese base at Fiery Cross Reef in April 2010. (Xinhua)

Satellite imagery analysis suggests that China is not building an artificial island at Fiery Cross (Yongshu) Reef in the Spratly Islands, in contrast to widespread reports in Southeast Asian media.

The southeastern end of the reef is home to a Chinese "marine observation station" that has hosted a Chinese dredger on a number of occasions in the past seven months.

IHS Jane's reported on 19 June that AISLive ship tracking data showed Ting Jing Hao , the dredger responsible for most of the land reclamation at other sites in the Spratlys, had visited Fiery Cross Reef from 7-14 December 2013 and again from 9-18 March 2014.