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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Recent satellite photographs show Beijing has built concrete aircraft hangars on reefs and features in the South China Sea (SCS), a Washington-based think tank said even as Japan warned China on Tuesday that ties were deteriorating over another maritime dispute.
Last month, Manila rejected Beijing’s demand that it “disregard” the tribunal’s ruling before the two countries could negotiate on the issue.
China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims.
Carl Thayer, an analyst on the South China Sea at the Australian Defence Force Academy, told the Guardian the Thaad deployment, China’s construction of military hangars and Vietnamese rocket launcher deployments had created emerging crisis spots in east Asia. At the same time, China is narrowing the still-considerable gap with the U.S. Navy, adding to its fleet of high-tech destroyers similar to the Benfold and building homemade aircraft carriers to join the single, heavily refurbished Ukrainian one it has now.
The United States has urged China and other claimants not to militarize their holdings in the South China Sea.
A USA navy commander said it had not been confirmed that the hangers were for military use, but uncertainty about them could add to tension.
“It’s not like the hangers are for mail planes, they are likely for jets”, the official said.
Ramos said that he had no authority to negotiate but expected that the formal phase of bilateral talks will take place “in the near future” between Philippine and Chinese officials.
Last month, China participated in Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC, a training exercise in conjunction with the US and 24 other countries held in Hawaii and off the coast of Southern California.
“China has indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly Islands and nearby waters”, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense said yesterday in a faxed response to a request for comment.
“Civilian planes landed on Subi and Mischief reefs for the first time on July 12, giving China three operational runways in the disputed Spratly Islands”. Aircraft shown for illustrative purposes.
In an e-mail to Rappler early Wednesday morning, August 10, Fravel said that construction of the hangars “probably began at least 6 months ago, and photos from May and June show completed hangars on Fiery Cross Reef”. Additionally, Japan discovered Chinese surface radar on a gas drilling platform on the southeast border of the region, said to be created to detect ships, Sputnik reported.
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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.
