Construction are seen on Subi Reef in the Spratly islands, in the disputed South China Sea in this July 24, 2016 satellite image released by the Asian Maritime Transparency Initiative at Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) to Reuters on August 9, 2016.
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The rapid construction of the hangars, however, “indicates that this is likely to change”.
A U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer arrived in the northern Chinese port of Qingdao on Monday in the first visit by an American warship to the country since Beijing responded angrily to an arbitration panel’s ruling that its expansive South China Sea maritime claims had no basis in law.
The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have competing partial claims and are perturbed by China’s aggressive moves to assert its sovereignty such as by reclaiming islands and building airstrips.
The global tribunal ruled last month that Beijing’s claims to most of the disputed waters had no legal basis.
The Japan Coast Guard said at least two of the 13 Chinese vessels have entered Japanese territorial waters around the islands despite repeated warnings for them to leave.
Former Philippine leader Fidel Ramos said yesterday he would meet contacts with links to Chinese President Xi Jinping during a trip to Hong Kong meant to improve ties between Manila and Beijing.
China has repeatedly denied doing so and has in turn criticized US patrols and exercises for ramping up tensions.
On the other hand, the smallest hangars are 60 to 70 feet wide, enough to accommodate China’s largest fighter jets.
MIT professor M. Taylor Fravel said, “China has given itself the option to use the reefs as military facilities, but has not decided yet to what degree it is going to use them”.
“I think it’s a mistake to take them individually and not look at them as a collective”.
Ramos, now 88, was president when China seized the disputed Mischief Reef in 1995, sparking protests from the Philippines.
China is open to any form of communication with the Philippines, said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wednesday.
“This series of actions by the Chinese side is a one-sided escalation that significantly raises tensions at the scene, and we absolutely can not accept it”, Japan’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shinsuke Sugiyama, said on Sunday.
While the government has yet to formally comment on Ramos’ mission, China’s 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”.
The diplomatic tussle comes amid simmering tension as China builds on outposts in the contested South China Sea, including what appear to be reinforced aircraft hangars, according to new satellite images.
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All photos republished with permission from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
