South China Sea: Australia raises alarm over possible Chinese military build-up on contested Spratly Islands

 

Defence Minister Kevin Andrews has joined the United States and other nations in opposing China’s large-scale land reclamation in the South China Sea.

Satellite imagery shows at least one former atoll in the contested Spratly Islands is now home to a Chinese harbour and a runway is also under construction.

Mr Andrews told a security conference in Singapore that Australia was concerned about any military build-up on the artificial islands in the area believed to be home to oil and gas reserves.

China puts bombers to long-range test via Miyako Strait

Drill comes after PLA tells US aircraft to leave Fiery Cross Reef airspace

China’s air force sent a group of strategic bombers through the Miyako Strait south of Okinawa in a long-range drill for the first time yesterday as part of military exercises in the western Pacific.

The manoeuvre came as US-based CNN reported that the Chinese navy repeatedly warned a US surveillance plane to leave airspace over artificial islands that Beijing is building in the disputed South China Sea.