Taiwan Livid After China Secretly Installs Cruise Missiles On Contested Spratly Islands

 

Tensions continue to flare up in the South China Sea, as Beijing has reportedly installed anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missile systems on three outposts in the region, as reported by CNBC on Wednesday, which cited sources with direct knowledge of U.S. intelligence reports. The missiles have reportedly been installed on Fiery Cross Reef, Subi Reef and Mischief Reef.

The land-based anti-ship cruise missiles, designated as YJ-12B, allow China to strike surface vessels within 295 nautical miles of the reefs. Meanwhile, the long-range surface-to-air missiles designated as HQ-9B, have an expected range of targeting aircraft, drones and cruise missiles within 160 nautical miles. –CNBC

As we’ve documented again and again (and again and again), China’s military buildup in the Pacific, particularly surrounding the Spratly Islands, a collection of small islands, cays and atolls in the South China Sea, is one of the greatest long-term risks to peace and stability in the US and many of China’s neighbors, who have territorial claims in the region that may conflict with China’s.

WORLD WAR III? US fears China will win any conflict because strength of Red Army’s fleet

Eight-plus years of deterioration through the Obama years and previous administrations and the turning of a blind eye to China have allowed it to rise and put America in jeopardy. The Chinese military has been on par with American capability for at least half of Obama’s term and is now cemented. America is now having to play catch-up, which will buy the PLA at least another four to eight years of time to get ahead and become even more entrenched.

Let one thing be clear: China isn’t pushing America out of the Asia-Pacific… it already has. It won’t be regained without a bloodbath.

 

China’s military power should not be underestimated according to experts [Getty]

 

US COMMANDERS are in fear of conflict with China because of the likelihood the Asian powerhouse would win, it has been claimed.

Donald Trump’s heavy handed approach to the South China sea – a billion dollar trade route – has angered his counterpart in beijing.

While the White House insists it must have a say over the resource-rich stretch of sea, experts are warning he has bitten off more than he can chew with China.

A missile-packed military fortress surrounds China which has cleverly constructed islands which work as stationary aircraft carriers under the leadership of Xi Jinping. 

China already moving to test Trump

Threatening to penalize US automaker, fortifying South China Sea islets

BEIJING — Eager to see how Donald Trump backs up his hard-line rhetoric, the Chinese government is taking steps to elicit responses from the U.S. president-elect on the economic and foreign policy fronts.

An official of the National Development and Reform Commission has revealed that an unnamed U.S. automaker is to be fined for instructing dealerships in China to fix prices, according to the English-language newspaper China Daily. Trump has responded by meeting with Wilbur Ross, his pick for commerce secretary.

US admiral announces F-22 deployment to Australia and warns of South China Sea confrontation

The United States will begin operating Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor multirole fighters from northern Australia in 2017, Admiral Harry Harris, commander of the US Pacific Command, said in Sydney on 14 December.

US-China tension: Maneuvering for pacific front of WW3?

 

The US is not the only one building up forces. China has been building artificial islands in the South China Sea’s

US-China tension in the last few months has sharply increased, with both nations exchanging some heated dialogue over the contested issue of the South China Sea. Although the prospect of the US and China actually engaging in battle is still an abstract idea, the notion became a little more concrete recently with the decision of the RAND corporation (long-time New World Order think tank) to release a study entitled War with China – Thinking Through the Unthinkable.

Pentagon Warns of Conflict Over Chinese Buildup on Disputed Island

 

Beijing asserts Scarborough Shoal is Chinese territory

China’s plans to build up a disputed island near the Philippines could lead to a regional conflict, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told Congress on Thursday.

Carter was asked about the strategic significance of China’s plan to add military facilities to a disputed island known as Scarborough Shoal located about 120 miles—within missile range—of Subic Bay, Philippines, where U.S. warships will be based.

China Flexes Its Military Muscles While America Does Nothing

Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Photo: Chine Nouvelle/SIPA)

 

In the last few days, China has undertaken several new military actions. These include landing a military aircraft on one of their new artificial islands in the South China Sea, a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to a newly established military headquarters, and testing a new ICBM. The purpose is simple: To send messages to the rest of the world:

• China’s inflexible commitment to its territorial claims in the South China Sea, and
• China’s major military reforms which will make it a much more capable opponent

South China Sea: claims White House ‘gagged’ US navy chief over China criticism

China’s construction of a “great wall of sand” with artificial islands in the South China Sea has sparked a stoush in Washington, with claims the White House has gagged US navy commanders criticising Beijing.

US Pacific commander Harry Harris has been most prominent amid repeated warnings by US military leaders that China’s ambitions in the disputed waters are destabilising the region.

Chinese vessels could ram US warships in S China Sea: Sina

The People’s Liberation Army may deliberately ram a vessel into a US warship if the US Navy makes further ventures into waters claimed by China, says the Beijing-based Sina Military News, just as US officials confirmed that they have sent a destroyer to pass within 12 nautical miles of one of China’s artificial islands in the disputed region.

The report said the US Navy has since May been sending warships near China’s man-made islands in the South China Sea. But until now, the ships have operated at least 12 nautical miles away from the islands where China has been conducting extensive land reclamation to build airstrips and facilities. The move on Tuesday goes further in challenging China’s territorial claims.

Given that China’s military constructions such as runways on several South China Sea islands are not yet complete and the PLA’s South Sea Fleet is too far away to react promptly, the only option for China is to use nearby patrol frigates to monitor and intercept US vessels that come within what Beijing considers its territory.

China Military Moves into South China Sea Dispute, Solidifying China’s New Area Grab

CNN broadcast an exclusive report, as one of its reporters hitched a ride on a U.S. Navy P-8 patrol aircraft overflying the artificial islands the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is building in the South China Sea. The Chinese repeatedly tried to warn off the aircraft, in English language broadcasts that CNN included in its report.

The report confirms that the Chinese are trying to establish sovereignty claims over these areas of the South China Sea by building major artificial islands atop reefs (which, by themselves, establish no territorial claims).

South China Sea: US mulls sending planes, ships near disputed islands

 

Washington: The Pentagon is considering sending US military aircraft and ships to assert freedom of navigation around rapidly growing Chinese-made artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea, a US official said on Tuesday.

US Defence Secretary Ash Carter requested options that included sending US military ships and aircraft within 22 kilometres of reefs that China had been building up in the disputed Spratly Islands, the official said.

Such a move would directly challenge Chinese efforts to expand its influence in the disputed region by literally adding territory through a massive island-building exercise.