The United States, its Southeast Asian allies and Japan have questioned Chinese land reclamation on contested islands in the South China Sea, particularly since an global court rejected China’s historic claims to most of that sea last month.
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China claims most of the South China Sea, through which US$5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims.
Beijing has built three operational runways in the disputed Fiery Cross, Mischief and Subi Reefsislands which it claims is for civilian use but in reality, military fighter and transport planes regularly operate to the islands, a report in Philstar.com said.
‘But the rapid construction of reinforced hangars at all three features indicates that this is likely to change’.
Construction of these structures began in May at Fiery Cross and in July at Subi and Mischief.
He said some of them were retired from the government but they could help influence China’s leaders.
While the Chinese government has yet to formally comment on Ramos’ mission, the official Xinhua News Agency said in an editorial Tuesday that it “brings a whiff of hope that the two countries will return to bilateral negotiations over the issue”.
Last month, China participated in Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC, a training exercise in conjunction with the USA and 24 other countries held in Hawaii and off the coast of Southern California.
Responding to the report on the reinforced hangars, China’s Defence Ministry said the country has “indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly islands and nearby waters”.
High-level dialogue between China and Japan was suspended for two years prior to a meeting in November 2014 between leaders due to tension following the Japanese government’s purchase of three of the disputed islands in September 2012. Aircraft shown for illustrative purposes. Besides their size – the smallest hangars are 60 to 70 feet wide, more than enough to accommodate China’s largest fighter jets – all show signs of structural strengthening.
Japan protested in June after it said a Chinese navy frigate sailed close to territorial waters near the islands for the first time.
The former Phillipine president said he believed his old friends in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as well as Guangdong, Hainan and Fujian Provinces all have links to Chinese leadership in Beijing since some of them have been elevated to China’s top legislature after retirement.
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Air force spokesman Senior Col. Shen Jinke said in an online statement that bombers and fighters, early warning aircraft and reconnaissance planes patrolled the airspace around the Spratly Islands, Scarborough Shoal and surrounding areas.
