Fox News said on Tuesday that images showed two batteries of eight missile launchers and a radar system had arrived on Woody Island, the Paracels’ main island.
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Satellite images show HQ-9 air defence system on Woody Island in South China Sea.
“We urge all claimants in the South China Sea to refrain from any building of islands, any militarization of islands, and land reclamation”, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said after a meeting in Sydney with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.
“There is every evidence, every day, that there has been an increase of militarisation of one kind or another”, Mr Kerry said on Wednesday following reports that Beijing had deployed advanced surface-to- air missiles to a disputed island in the Paracel chain of islands.
“Vietnam is gravely concerned about such Chinese actions, which have seriously violated Vietnamese sovereignty over the Hoang Sa [Paracel] archipelago”, Binh underlined.
It says it conducts such “freedom of navigation” operations to ensure access to key shipping and air routes.
The reports of the deployment pose a fresh challenge from Beijing to US President Barack Obama, who had struck a defiant tone over the South China Seas just a few hours earlier at the end of a summit with leaders of South East Asian nations. China, Taiwan and Vietnam all claim control of the island.
Pressed on whether China was denying the presence of missiles, she said, “No, they did not deny, but nor did they admit that there were”. Wang advised the Western media to focus on lighthouses built by China in the region to assist navigation.
US military has allegedly sent surveillance flights around the disputed island, which China sees as a violation.
The Chinese Ministry of National Defense yesterday confirmed that “China has deployed weapons on the island for a long time”, reported the Global Times newspaper, which has close ties to the Chinese Communist Party. “The U.S.is bold about imposing pressure on China, and China must make an appropriate response”.
Taiwan President-elect Tsai Ing-wen said tensions were now higher in the region.
Taiwan President-elect Tsai Ing-wen said tensions are now higher in the region. While the statement does not mention the South China Sea or island-building, it does add a new commitment by all the parties to “non-militarization”. There are a total of three runways built on three of the artificial islands, the report said.
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The Pentagon was watching the developments closely, a defence official told the news channel.
