USA officials said it’s not the first time China has placed J-11 and J-7 fighter jets on Woody Island, part of the Paracel island chain in the hotly disputed region, after expanding the runway there in 2014.
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Chinese Shenyang J-11s (“Flanker”) and Xian JH-7s (“Flounder”) have been seen by US intelligence on Woody Island in the past few days, the same island where Fox News reported exclusively last week that China had sent two batteries of HQ-9 surface-to-air missiles while President Obama was hosting 10 Southeast Asian leaders in Palm Springs.
His ministry said the three-day trip comes with Beijing and Washington at loggerheads over militarization in the South China Sea, while at the same time trying to find common ground on how to deal with North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs in the wake of Pyongyang’s latest tests.
Hours before the Wang-Kerry meeting, the top US commander in the Pacific said his fleet would continue “freedom of navigation operations” in the sea, citing its importance to global trade.
“What we are trying to do it break that cycle”, he said.
China has long claimed that its development of artificial islands was for civilian purposes, including weather observation, prompting Australia’s foreign minister Julie Bishop to ask Beijing if other countries could have access to the facilities. “China wants to make joint efforts with each side to keep the South China Sea peaceful and stable”, Hua said.
Chinese state media said defenses had been in place on the island for years, and denied it was militarizing the island.
China’s Ministry of Defence said on its microblog yesterday China had established “necessary defensive facilities” that were “legal and appropriate”. A leading USA military officer told Congress that China was seeking to control East Asia.
China is “clearly militarising the South China (Sea)”, said Admiral Harry Harris, head of the US Pacific Command, adding: “You’d have to believe in a flat Earth to think otherwise”.
On Friday, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei said the USA should get its history and basic facts on the South China Sea straight, before making any remarks.
Kerry said a draft of the resolution was “currently being evaluated” by US and Chinese officials.
Both the USA and Vietnam last week expressed concern at China’s deployment of advanced surface-to-air missiles on the Paracels.
The United States and China say they are nearing a deal over UN sanctions on North Korea, raising the prospect of finalizing the resolution to punish the North within this week.
Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (WAHNG YEE) sparred over much of the same territory a month ago in Beijing. Vietnam and Taiwan also claim it while Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei are caught in between a dispute with China over the surrounding water and the regional islands.
China is being accused of trying to dominate East Asia by deploying missiles and radar in the South China Sea.
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In an editorial Tuesday, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said divisions over Korea and the South China Sea had been “amplified thanks partly to Washington’s hidden agendas and recklessness”.
