China's fighter jet makes first public landing on disputed island
The artificial islands in the sea have been the subject of criticism by America, which worries that China plans to use them for military purposes.
According to media reports, the runway on the Fiery Cross Reef is 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) long and is one of three China has been building for more than a year by dredging sand.
Reports quoted the official People's Liberation Army Daily as saying in a front-page story that 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.
They were then taken in the transport aircraft back to Hainan island for treatment.
It was the first time China's military had publicly admitted landing an aircraft on Fiery Cross Reef, the influential Global Times tabloid said.
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