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Washington /Â AFP
New satellite imagery shows China has apparently installed “significant” defensive weapons on a series of artificial islands it built in the South China Sea, a US-based think tank said.
Beijing has created seven islets in the Spratly Islands in recent years, built up from much smaller land protuberances and reefs.
Although Beijing has said it does not intend to militarize the contested waters of the South China Sea, ongoing satellite imagery has shown the installation of military equipment and longer runways.
The latest images, released by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), show a series of hexagonal structures now in place on each of the seven islets.
They appear to be large anti-aircraft guns and close-in weapons systems (CIWS), the AMTI said.
Such systems are designed to take out incoming missiles and enemy aircraft. “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,” said AMTI, part of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“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.”
AMTI director and Southeast Asia expert Greg Poling said watching the Chinese military buildup was like seeing pieces of a jigsaw puzzle come together.
China now has air bases, radar and communications systems, naval facilities and defensive weaponry in place.
“I also would expect we will see antiship cruise missiles,” Poling said.
“You are beginning to have these interlocking rings of defense around these islands, (extending) China’s ability to project power to the south.”
The South China Sea issue has been brewing for years, with China, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam making competing claims in waters with vital global shipping routes and what is believed to be significant oil and natural gas deposits.