Report: China’s man-made S.China Sea islands nearly complete

On each of the islands, China has constructed enough concrete hangers for 24 fighter jets and four or five larger planes such as bombers or early warning aircraft, CSIS reported.

China already uses an existing airfield on Woody Island in the similarly disputed Paracel chain, located to the north, where it has maintained mobile HQ-9 surface-to-air missiles for more than a year and deployed anti-ship cruise missiles on at least one occasion, CSIS said.

The airfields and advanced surveillance and early warning radars will allow China’s military to operate over virtually the entire South China Sea.

“Beijing can now deploy military assets, including combat aircraft and mobile missile launchers, to the Spratly Islands at any time,” the report said.

China’s creation of seven man-made islands in the South China Sea has drawn strong criticism from the U.S. and others, who accuse Beijing of further militarizing the region and altering geography to bolster its claims.

China says its island construction is mainly for civilian purposes, particularly to increase safety for ships that carry an estimated $5 trillion worth of goods through the waterway each year. It has also provided reassurances that it will not interfere with freedom of navigation or overflight, although questions remain as to whether that includes military ships and aircraft.

Commenting on the report, a senior Philippine defence official said the construction China has carried out on the islands “belies a clearly military purpose contrary to Chinese public pronouncements that it is civilian in nature.”

That raises the likelihood of further militarization and restrictions on air and sea traffic, posing a “clear and present danger to the present regional security balance,” said the official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters on the matter.

China has refused to confirm speculation over whether it plans to declare an air defence identification zone over the South China Sea as it has done already over international airspace in the East China Sea. The U.S. has refused to recognize the East China Sea zone, which requires aircraft to declare their flight plans, identify themselves to Chinese traffic monitors and follow their instructions.

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Associated Press writer Teresa Cerojano in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.

Christopher Bodeen, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Report: China’s man-made S.China Sea islands nearly complete

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