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Chinese Islands News

24 May 2018

Beijing's South China Sea Building Boom Grows

The Republic of Singapore navy Formidable-class frigate RSS Supreme (FFG 73) and the Victory-class corvette RSS Valiant (PGG 91) transit the South China Sea behind the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Theodore Roosevelt is underway for a regularly scheduled deployment in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Michael Colemanberry/Released)

At first glance from above it looks like any clean and neatly planned small town, complete with sports grounds, neat roads and large civic buildings. But the town is on Subi reef in the Spratlys archipelago of the hotly contested South China Sea and, regional security experts believe, could soon be home to China's first troops based in the maritime heart of Southeast Asia. Private sector data analysis reviewed by Reuters shows Subi, some 1,200 km (750 miles) from China's coast, is now home to nearly 400 individual buildings – far more than other Chinese islands.

24 Feb 2016

China: Media Ignores Other Claimants' S.China Sea Weaponry

China on Wednesday complained the media were ignoring radars and weapons deployed by other claimants in the South China Sea, and unfairly targeting China, following reports of its deployment of fighter jets and radars in the disputed waterway. Over the past week or so China has been reported to have deployed advanced missiles, fighters and radar equipment on islands in the South China Sea, especially on Woody Island in the Paracels. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying reiterated that as far as China was concerned, there was no dispute over ownership of the Paracels, and so China could deploy what it wanted on its territory without reproach.

26 Oct 2015

US Navy to Send Destroyer Near Chinese Islands

USS Lassen (U.S. Navy photo)

The U.S. Navy plans to send the USS Lassen destroyer within 12 nautical miles of artificial islands built by China in the South China Sea within 24 hours, the first of more regular challenges to China's territorial claims, a U.S. defense official said on Monday. The destroyer's patrol would occur near Subi and Mischief reefs in the Spratly archipelago, features that were formerly submerged at high tide before China began a massive dredging project to turn them into islands in 2014. The ship would likely be accompanied by a U.S.

26 Jul 2015

Chinese Navy Plays Down S. China Sea Exercises

The Chinese navy played down recent military drills in the South China Sea and criticised other countries for "illegally" occupying islands in the area, the official Xinhua news service reported on Saturday. China has launched a naval drill in waters to the east of Hainan island, a largely unpopulated region of reefs and shoals in which a number of countries maintain contradictory and overlapping territorial claims. "Holding sea drills is a common practice for navies with various countries. The annual drill by the Chinese navy aims to test the troops' real combat abilities, boost their manoeuvrability, search and rescue power and the abilities to fulfil diversified military missions," Xinhua quoted Chinese navy spokesperson Liang Yang saying.

05 May 2015

China: Philippines Violating South China Sea Code

China has accused the Philippines of violating a 13-year-old informal code of conduct in the South China Sea with its building work on disputed islets, firing back again after repeated criticism of China's own construction work. China and the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed an agreement in 2002 to refrain from occupying uninhabited reefs and shoals in the sea, and from building new structures that would complicate disputes. In a statement just before midnight on Monday, China's Foreign Ministry urged the Philippines to stop its "malicious hyping and provocation" on the dispute, whose basis, it said, was Manila's illegal occupation of certain Chinese islands.

29 Apr 2015

China Fires Back at S.China Sea Accusations

After facing weeks of criticism about its reclamation work on disputed islands in the South China Sea, China on Wednesday turned the tables on Vietnam, the Philippines and others by accusing them of carrying out their own illegal building work. China claims 90 percent of the South China Sea, which is believed to be rich in oil and gas, with overlapping claims from Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan. Recent satellite images show China has made rapid progress in building an airstrip suitable for military use in the Spratly Islands and may be planning another. Those moves, along with other reclamations, have caused alarm around the region and in Washington too, with the issue dominating a summit of Southeast Asian leaders this week, to China's displeasure.