Poling said the appearance of the reinforced hangers was not surprising since they’re sitting at the end of runways larger than any non-military objective would require.
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China is building hangars in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) as it prepares its artificial islands for military aircraft, based on photos released by an independent think tank.
The images have emerged about a month after an worldwide court in The Hague ruled against China’s sweeping claims in the resource-rich region, a ruling emphatically rejected by the Chinese.
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. Construction of hangars was photographed on Fiery Cross, Subi and Mischief Reefs late July. “They plan to put aircraft in these areas”, the official said, adding they find the development very disturbing.
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.
Many in the Japanese government believe China is escalating its actions in the East China Sea to take revenge there for the South China Sea and to pressure Japan not to take further actions that irritate China.
“It’s not like the hangers are for mail planes, they are likely for jets”, the official said.
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.
On Tuesday morning, the Japan Coast Guard said it spotted Chinese ships in the country’s territorial waters surrounding the islands and about a dozen others nearby.
Japan’s foreign minister has summoned the Chinese ambassador to demand that Beijing promptly withdraw its vessels from waters around disputed islands in the East China Sea. Aircraft shown for illustrative purposes.
The hangars all show signs of structural strengthening, the CSIS said.
Japan protested in June after it said a Chinese navy frigate sailed close to territorial waters near the islands for the first time.
In addition to the rapid construction of hangars, unidentified hexagonal structures are quickly being built at four locations on each islet, always oriented toward the sea.
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Vietnam has fortified several islands it controls in the South China Sea with mobile rocket launchers able to strike Chinese military bases in the region, one of the most assertive moves in decades.
