China has built new military facilities on islands in the South China Sea, a U.S. think tank reported on Thursday, a move that could raise tensions with Washington, which has accused Beijing of militarising the vital waterway.
The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), part of Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, said new satellite images show missile shelters and radar and communications facilities being built on the Fiery Cross, Mischief and Subi Reefs in the Spratly Islands.
The United States has criticized China’s build-up of military facilities on the artificial islands and is concerned they could be used to restrict free movement through the South China Sea, an important trade route.
Last month, a U.S. Navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef in a so-called freedom of navigation operation, the first such challenge to Beijing’s claim to most of the waterway since U.S. President Donald Trump took office.
China has denied U.S. charges that it is militarising the sea, which also is claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Trump has sought China’s help in reining in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, and tension between Washington and Beijing over military installations in the South China Sea could complicate those efforts.
China has built four new missile shelters on Fiery Cross Reef to go with the eight already on the artificial island, AMTI said. Mischief and Subi each have eight shelters, the think tank said in a previous report.
In February, Reuters reported that China had nearly finished building structures to house long-range surface-to-air missiles on the three islands.
On Mischief Reef, a very large antennae array is being installed that presumably boosts Beijing’s ability to monitor the surroundings, the think tank said, adding that the installation should be of concern to the Philippines due to its proximity to an area claimed by Manila.
A large dome recently was installed on Fiery Cross and another is under construction, indicating a sizeable communications or radar system, AMTI said. Two more domes are being built at Mischief Reef, it said.
A smaller dome has been installed near the missile shelters on Mischief, “indicating that it could be connected to radars for any missile systems that might be housed there,” AMTI said.
“Beijing can now deploy military assets, including combat aircraft and mobile missile launchers, to the Spratly Islands at any time,” it said.
Nuking China is inevitable
Why is there never a report about vietnamese, malaysian or taiwanese military constructions/militarization on the islands that they possess in SCS?! Which they are doing.
What about the fact that this year Vietnam signed a multi-billion-dollar gas deal with the US Exxonmobil for exploration and to extract gas by 2023 from disputed SCS.
In the Spratly Islands Vietnam has 48 outposts; the Philippines, 8; China, 8; Malaysia, 5, and Taiwan, 1
In the past 20 years, according to the United States, China has not physically occupied additional features. By contrast, Vietnam has doubled its holdings, and much of that activity has occurred recently. The Vietnamese occupations appear to have increased from 30 to 48 in the last six years.
All of these same claimants have also engaged in construction activity of differing scope and degree. The types of outpost upgrades vary across claimants but broadly are comprised of land reclamation, building construction and extension, and defense emplacements. Between 2009 and 2014, Vietnam was the most active claimant in terms of both outpost upgrades and land reclamation, reclaiming approximately 60 acres. All territorial claimants, with the exception of China and Brunei, have also already built airstrips of varying sizes and functionality on disputed features in the Spratlys.
Any military built up in those reefs are for defense as they are immovable unlike battle ships or aircraft carriers. To say those stationery outposts, not those gun boats, would interfere with freedom of navigation of merchant shipping, despite Chinese continue guarantee that they will protect rather than interfere with shipping is total disregard of justice and blatant lies by militaristic adventurists. These simpletons still believe they can fool all the people all the time, and they can escape justice like before.
Disputants to the South China Sea should ask the question: why China does not claim sovereignty over the other seas closer to Chinese borders? Why China claims sovereignty over the SCS alone? The reason behind the question is: if Chinese ancestors had managed the seas as a national territory, the first ones should be those closest to China, not the farthest one. When China does not claim sovereignty over the clsoest ones, it has nither legitimacy nor logic to claim sovereignty over a farthest sea.
Daniel Maraamu
China’s claim of sovereignty over the SCS since ancient times is bogus. By the same token, nobody would accept Italy’s claim over the Mediterranean as a result of the Roman Empire. The International Court of Arbitration has already rejected China’s 9-dashed line which China failed to contest for lack of supporting proofs.
Regarding contract wiith Exxon-Mobil to develop a gas field with a potential of 150 billions cubic meters of gas, the Blue Whale field is barely 90km offshore Central Vietnam and according to UNCLOS it’s within Vietnam’s legitimate economic zone, nothing to do with China. Exxon-Mobil’s successful bid cannot possibly happen without green light given by the US administration. China would expect to face the might of the US Navy should it choose to sitr up trouble.
Daniel Maraamu
If you are serious researcher and want to know more about the islands of the SCS, you should come to Vietnam to study ancient artefacts and government records testifying Vietnam’s administration of the Paracels and Spratly islands dating back several centuries. Vietnam has the strongest claims among the claimants. It has expanded some islands in its control for defensive measures and that amounts to a couple hundred hectares, that’s peanut compared to 5,000ha of land reclamation by China.
You should lend an ear to different opinions for a balanced view instead of defending China’s illegal activities. What China is doing is empire building regardless of what people think.
It is clear to me you did not understand what does "freedom of navigation" mean. If China refrains from interference of freedom of navigation, it means: China no longer claims sovereignty over the SCS. That is, China acknowledges that the SCS is part of the high seas=international domain, and that the SCS is not China’s territorial waters. It further means, China "will protect" other 5 freedoms given to countries by the international law the UNCLOS.
Drop dead loser!
Tranvan Thomas Before the French colonialists conquered ‘Annam’ there was no Vietnam. How long ago was that? Centuries? Gimme a break. Don’t manufacture history!
Here’s a lesson for you: ‘An’ means ‘Peaceful’, ‘Nam’ or ‘Nan’ means South of China. ‘Annam’ was a vassal state of you know which country, don’t you? But, I’m not holding my breadth.
You must be joking, Cuba, Jamaica and the Caribbean are not own by the pale face, so how come they own Hawaii and loads of island 10 times further from US mainland . By the way, how come white men own the Americas when they don’t own the land in between?
We wanted to nuke China after Korean War when china didn’t possess nukes, but didn’t. There was a reason for such decision, now that china has the full arsenal of nukes, we want to nuke them? It is no situation where if there are to be mushroom clouds, no one including us would be immune.
Low Shen-Cheang —I was talking about watery surface, the seas. You were talking about land surface, the islands. According to the UNCLOS, any country can only own 12 nautical miles of watery surface but China wants to own 1000 miles in the SCS. Such an ownership is not allowed by the international law, the UNCLOS, which China has signed on.
China must first own the seas closer to home and then she can claim she also own seas farther away. Please answer me, why China does not own the 3 seas closer to China’s shores?
Nora Kay
Your understanding of Vietnam is very superficial. You need to dig deeper into history. The Mongol Empire was the largest the world has ever known, stretching from China to the Midlle East and Eastern Europe. Why Southeast Asia escaped the Mongol yoke? Because Vietnam stopped them in their track. Vietnam defeated the Mongol hordes of Kublai Khan not once, but three times in succession, in 1258, 1285 and 1287. That’s the time when Marco Polo was traveling the Silk Road in the 13th century. That’s the time when China was conquered by Kublai Khan who put an end to the Song Dynasty.
Why the Mongols wanted to control Vietnam so much that they mounted repeated invasions? Because Vietnam stood in their way, they needed a safe passage for expansion into Southeast Asia and Vietnam is a gatekeeper. Countries of Southeast Asia should have Vietnam to thank for.
Vietnam occupies a strategic position in the SCS and for the same reason throughout history, China has invaded Vietnam no less than 17 times in its attempt to expand into Southeast Asia in its way to conquer the world. People in the US don’t read history properly and made mistakes. Typically, the idiotic Kissinger thought he could make deals with China in selling out the Republic of South Vietnam and allowing China to seize the Paracels as a springboard for control of the entire SCS. China’s ultimate goal is to evict the US from Asia and expand its empire. The US has realized its mistakes and now counts on Vietnam to thwart China’s expansionism.
You, Nora, may have reason to support China but Vietnam has reasons to distrust a malevolent neighbor. Vietnam needs the US and the US needs Vietnam. Here you go, some bits of history. You need to go back to school.
Nora Kay You are referring to Vietnam dismissively because it was a former French colony. It doesn’t matter what name the French gave to the country, Vietnam is still Vietnam and still feels the same humiliation as China regarding invasion be western european powers. It happened during a weak era in the Nguyen dynasty in the 18th century when the French using the pretext of defending religious freedom for jesuits and christianity that they invaded with superior weopons, quickly overwhelming the locals who fought with rustic weopons.
Vietnamese people always find ways to resist occupiers and fight for independence. After WWII, France tried to return to its former colony whilst Britain was wiser in divesting of its colonies and formed a Commonwealth which is highly successful and still alive and well today. The US was in control of the region after the Japanese surrender, committed mistake in not handing over the control of the country to a legitimate Vietnamese government, but instead allowed the French to return because they are allies during the war, thus sowing the seeds for the American phase of the war.
You, Nora, you must have relatives or friends falling victims of a war for nothing because of shortcomings of your government. Vietnam was known as Dai Viet or Great Viet and succeeded in shaking off Chinese domination in the 10th century and managed to fight off numerous Chinese invasions ever since to secure a nation state today. The Paracels and Spratly islands were administered by the Nguyen dynasty and the French took over the administration on behalf of the Vietnamese. The 1951 San Francisco Conference was convened to decide on the fate of SCS islands occupied by Japan and the delegates voted overwhelmingly to award Vietnam legal custody of the islands.
Nora Kay May I ask what level of education you have. You have shown your ignorance about the history of Asia, particularly Vietnam. No wonder decision makers in the US who failed to read history properly and stumbled upon a war they cannot win suffering 58,000 dead and a few billion dollars expense that could easily bankrupt a normal country. How many American families have lost their loved ones for nothing?
The history of Vietnam is a constant struggle for survival since the 10th century against dangerous neighbor. The struggle continued against the French for independence. Had the US understood the wishes of the Vietnamese people and helped them achieve independence, the Vietnam war would not have happened. The US too had to fight against the British for independence.
Another name the French gave to South Vietnam was Cochinchine, meaning a place between Cochin (an Indian town) and China. They were applying the tactics of Divide and Rule and organising the country into 3 zones, the North, the Center and the South, and pitting one against the other causing discord among Vietnamese for ease of control. But ultimately the French were driven out after the defeat at Dien Bien Phu.
You, Nora, you’ve looked down upon Vietnam calling it a vassal state of China. In a sense it’s true but how can it be otherwise? A small country against a huge neighbor must show deference and pay tribute in order to keep the peace but up to a point, Vietnam has a history of fighting back to defend its interest when it counts. To China, Vietnam is like a bone that got stuck in their mouth and they can’t swallow. Big fish eat small fish but Vietnam will bite back.
Why don’t you go to your local library and get more info about the 1951 San Francisco Conference and enlist the help of the Vietnamese consulate to study ancient maps, artefacts, royal decrees pertaining to the administration of the SCS islands by the Nguyen dynasty in the 18th century.