China appears to
have installed weapons, including anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems, on
all seven of the artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea, a U.S.
think tank reported on Wednesday, citing new satellite imagery.
The Asia Maritime
Transparency Initiative (AMTI) at the Center for Strategic and International
Studies said its findings come despite statements by the Chinese leadership
that Beijing has no intention to militarize the islands in the strategic trade
route, where territory is claimed by several countries.
AMTI said it had
been tracking construction of hexagonal structures on Fiery Cross, Mischief and
Subi reefs in the Spratly Islands since June and July. China has already built
military length airstrips on these islands.
"It now seems
that these structures are an evolution of point-defense fortifications already
constructed at China’s smaller facilities on Gaven, Hughes, Johnson, and
Cuarteron reefs," it said citing images taken in November and made
available to Reuters.
"This model has
gone through another evolution at (the) much-larger bases on Fiery Cross, Subi
and Mischief reefs."
Satellite images of
Hughes and Gaven reefs showed what appeared to be anti-aircraft guns and what
were likely to be close-in weapons systems (CIWS) to protect against cruise
missile strikes, it said.
Images from Fiery
Cross Reef showed towers that likely contained targeting radar, it said.
AMTI said covers had
been installed on the towers at Fiery Cross, but the size of platforms on these
and the covers suggested they concealed defense systems similar to those at the
smaller reefs.
"These gun and
probable CIWS emplacements show that Beijing is serious about defense of its
artificial islands in case of an armed contingency in the South China
Sea," it said.
"Among other
things, they would be the last line of defense against cruise missiles launched
by the United States or others against these soon-to-be-operational air
bases."
PHILIPPINES
CONCERNED
Philippine Foreign
Affairs spokesperson Charles Jose told Reuters they were still verifying the
report.
"But if report
is true, then it is a cause for serious concern because it tends to raise
tension and undermine peace and stability in the region," Jose said.
Vietnam's foreign
ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
AMTI director Greg
Poling said AMTI had spent months trying to figure out what the purposes of the
structures was.
"This is the
first time that we're confident in saying they are anti-aircraft and CIWS
emplacements. We did not know that they had systems this big and this advanced
there," he told Reuters.
"This is
militarization. The Chinese can argue that it's only for defensive purposes,
but if you are building giant anti-aircraft gun and CIWS emplacements, it means
that you are prepping for a future conflict.
"They keep
saying they are not militarizing, but they could deploy fighter jets and
surface-to-air missiles tomorrow if they wanted to," he said. "Now
they have all the infrastructure in place for these interlocking rings of
defense and power projection."The report said the installations would
likely back up a defensive umbrella provided by a future deployment of mobile
surface-to-air missile (SAM) platforms like the HQ-9 system deployed to Woody
Island in the Paracel Islands, farther to the north in the South China Sea.
It forecast that
such a deployment could happen "at any time," noting a recent Fox
News report that components for SAM systems have been spotted at the
southeastern Chinese port of Jieyang, possibly destined for the South China
Sea.
Singapore-based
South China Sea expert Ian Storey said he believed the move would help ready
the facilities for the probable next step of China flying jet fighters and
military transport planes to its new runways.
“From the outset
it’s been quite obvious that the artificial islands were designed to serve as
military outposts in the South China Sea,” said Storey, of the ISEAS Yusof
Ishak Institute.
“Even while tensions
are at a relatively low ebb, I think we can expect to see military flights to
the Spratlys in the coming months – including the first jet fighters,” Storey
said.
China has said
military construction on the islands will be limited to necessary defensive
requirements.
The United States
has criticized what it called China's militarization of its maritime outposts
and stressed the need for freedom of navigation by conducting periodic air and
naval patrols near them that have angered Beijing.
U.S. President-elect
Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has also criticized Chinese behavior
in the South China Sea while signaling he may adopt a tougher approach to
China's assertive behavior in the region than President Barack Obama.
The State Department
said it would not comment on intelligence matters, but spokesman John Kirby
added:
"We
consistently call on China as well as other claimants to commit to peacefully
managing and resolving disputes, to refrain from further land reclamation and
construction of new facilities and the militarization of disputed
features."
Reuters
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