China claims most of the South China Sea, through which US$5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year.
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China has repeatedly denied doing so and has in turn criticized US patrols and exercises for ramping up tensions.
Cheng was reported to have responded that it is a “matter of course” that Chinese vessels operate in waters near their country’s territory.
Swift was visiting the northern Chinese port of Qingdao as part of efforts to build trust and understanding between the two navies, now locked in a protracted competition for primacy in East Asia, where the USA has traditionally been the dominant military power.
China has refused to recognise the court ruling.
Japanese media reports say the recent escalation in China’s activity around the disputed islands may be seen as a warning against planned visits by members of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet to Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, which honours war criminals among the war dead, for the August 15 anniversary to mark the end of World War II.
The largest hangars, 200 feet wide, are “more than enough for strategic bombers and refuelers”, Poling said.
Aircraft hangars seen on Mischief Reef in the Spratly islands in this July 22, 2016 satellite image released by the Asian Maritime Transparency Initiative at CSIS.
This is a weekly look at the latest key developments in the South China Sea, home to several territorial conflicts that have raised tensions in the region.
The CSIS report also mentioned about some “unidentified hexagonal structures” that were being built quickly at four locations on each islet “always oriented toward the sea”.
“China has indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly islands and nearby waters”, China’s Defence Ministry said in a faxed response to a request for comment on Tuesday.
But China has ignored the court’s ruling that none of its reefs and holdings in the Spratly Islands entitled it to a 200-mile exclusive economic zone.
“They’re reinforced to take a strike”.
Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said of the aircraft infrastructure: “If you were going to declare an ADIZ, this is the sort of thing you’d do”.
Though China resents the highly visible presence of the US armed forces in Asia, especially the South China Sea, it has gradually overcome its reluctance and shown a willingness to engage that the sides hope will help avoid conflicts.
“That increases the angst and uncertainty, that lack of transparency, and that is generally destabilizing as opposed to a stabilizing action”, Swift said.
Swift also criticized the planned China-Russia drills, saying, “There are other places those exercises could have been conducted”.
Tokyo hasn’t specified what capabilities, including range, the Chinese radar may possess.
Ramos – a longtime advocate of closer Philippine-Chinese ties – was sent as a conciliatory envoy by President Rodrigo Duterte, but has been vague about his itinerary.
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In a press briefing prior to departure, Ramos described his trip as a “fishing expedition” to strengthen peace in the Asia-Pacific region and the first phase to renewing the friendship between the Philippines and China, after which formal bilateral talks could follow between government officials of the two countries.
