The 4 September 1997 IRS-1C image shows the reef with four noticeable blips along the north, south, east, and west perimeter. These blips may be part of the four building clusters described in the media reports on the Chinese occupation. However, it is not possible to be certain about this because the individual buildings within each cluster are not visible. Inside the lagoon, there is a 68 ± 5 meter long feature that could possibly be a naval vessel. Unfortunately, a more definitive identification could not be made because the feature’s shape is blurred and its shadow could not be discerned in the lagoon.

In the 10 November 1997 IRS-1C image, two of the four blips along the reef periphery could not be seen, but a feature inside the lagoon could be positively identified as a naval vessel. Although the satellite image was too blurred to identify the class of the vessel with certainty, the feature’s measured length of 71 ± 5 meters did eliminate some ship classes from consideration.If the vessel was Chinese, it was too small to be a destroyer, frigate, or ballistic missile submarine and too large to be a coastal patrol boat. The vessel was also too small to be either a Yukan-class supply ship (120 meters long) or a Dazhi-class support ship (107 meters long). Both ship classes have been observed at Mischief Reef on earlier occasions. Thus, based on a process of elimination, the imaged ship was probably either a replenishment ship (e.g., Fulin Class), a survey and research ship (e.g., Yannan Class), a cable ship (Yudian Class), or a civilian transport/fishing ship.