Satellite images ‘show Beijing has built weapons on all its artificial islands in South China Sea’

By scmp

US think tanks says advanced systems installed mean Beijing ‘could deploy fighter jets and missiles tomorrow if they wanted’

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 US think tank reported on Wednesday, citing new satellite imagery.

China’s Defence Ministry said in an online statement that China had sovereignty over the Spratly Islands, and its construction activities on the islands were legitimate.

“The necessary military facilities are mainly for self-defence. It is legitimate,” the statement said. “When someone is flexing muscles at your doorstep, wouldn’t you prepare a slingshot?”

The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said its findings had come despite statements by the Chinese leadership that Beijing had no intention to militarise the islands in the strategic trade route, where territory is claimed by several countries.

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“It now seems that these structures are an evolution of point-defence fortifications already constructed at China’s smaller facilities on Gaven, Hughes, Johnson, and Cuarteron reefs,” the think tank said, citing images taken in November.

“This model has gone through another evolution at [the] much-larger bases on Fiery Cross, Subi and Mischief reefs.”
Song Zhongping, a military commentator for the Hong Kong-based Phoenix Satellite Television, said those hexagonal constructions were part of the PLA’s military facilities to defend the security of the artificial islands.

“There are long airstrips for both military and civilian aircraft on Fiery Cross Island, Subi Reef and Mischief Reef, so it’s necessary for China to build some military defensive facilities such as radar and missile systems, as well as some constructions that the CSIS report mentioned,” Song said.

“The hexagonal constructions are just part of the military defensive facilities to prevent the PLA’s military equipment from being attacked or destroyed.”

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) for protection against cruise missile strikes, 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 defence systems similar to those at the smaller reefs.

“These gun and probable CIWS emplacements show that Beijing is serious about the defence 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 defence against cruise missiles launched by the United States or others against these soon-to-be-operational air bases.”

A satellite image of Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea. Photo: Reuters
A satellite image shows Johnson Reef in the South China Sea. Photo: Reuters
AMTI director Greg Poling said AMTI had spent months trying to figure out what the purposes of the structures were.

“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 said.

“This is militarisation. 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.

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“They keep saying they are not militarising, 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 defence 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 such as 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.

China has said military construction on the islands will be limited to necessary defensive requirements.

The United States has criticised what it called China’s militarisation 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.

US president-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, has also criticised Chinese behaviour in the South China Sea while signalling he may adopt a tougher approach to China’s assertive behaviour in the region than President Barack Obama.

The US 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 militarisation of disputed features.”