China has deployed two batteries of sophisticated surface-to-air missile launchers to a disputed island in the South China Sea.
Advertisement
China claims nearly the whole of the South China Sea, resulting in overlapping claims with several other Asian nations like Vietnam and the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
According to the images, a beach on the island was empty on February 3, but the missiles were visible by February 14.
The move has also been confirmed by Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, which says that it has first-hand intelligence on the existence of the missile batteries and is closely monitoring the situation.
Last month, a US Navy destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of Triton Island in the Paracel chain, which it said was aimed at countering efforts by China, Vietnam and Taiwan to limit freedom of navigation.
But the work has angered other countries which also claim the territory, and there is growing concern about the implications of the area becoming militarised.
The Australians should not avoid the fact that the Philippines initiated arbitration unilaterally and this is not in accordance with global law, and it also violates the consensus reached by the Philippines and China as well as the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, Hong said.
“However, all something like that will do is act as a further irritant to China, whose position is that this is their backyard, much as the same way as the US would treat the Gulf of Mexico, for instance”, he added.
Australia should adopt an objective and unbiased attitude and refrain from doing anything that undermines regional peace and stability, said the spokesperson of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.
“China has recently built hardened shelters for fighter aircraft on Woody Island”.
The missiles have been secretly arriving on Woody Island, one of the islands in the chain, in February.
Washington worries that China has built up the islands with the aim of extending its military reach in the South China Sea.
China has set up a sophisticated surface-to-air missile system on Woody Island in the disputed area of the South China Sea, satellite imagery suggests.
Reuters quoted a United States official confirming the “apparent deployment”.
The reported move by China comes as President Obama hosted 10 Asian leaders in California, many of those concerned over China’s recent activity in the South China Sea.
Commander of the US Pacific Command, Admiral Harry Harris said the missile deployment was a “clear indication of militarisation”.
Jin said any future military deployment would be focused in the Paracels, which Beijing has controlled for decades and which China has more confident claims to.
“We will deploy a necessary amount of national defense facilities”, said Mr Hong.
Advertisement
While Vietnam and the Philippines have been critics of China’s assertiveness, non-claimant Asean states have been less willing to challenge it in a region increasingly dependent on the world’s second-biggest economy.
