China Adds Advanced Missiles to South China Sea Islands

 

Pentagon plans major response to Chinese hegemony

China’s military has stepped up militarizing disputed islands in the South China Sea by deploying advanced missile systems on the Spratly islands, according to the Pentagon.

Defense officials disclosed to the Washington Free Beacon that the militarization has raised alarm bells about China’s creeping takeover of the strategic waterway used for some $5 trillion annually in international trade.

In first under Trump, U.S. warship challenges Beijing’s claims in South China Sea

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey prepares for a replenishment-at-sea in the South China Sea May 19, 2017. Picture taken May 19, 2017. Kryzentia Weiermann/Courtesy U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS

 

A U.S. Navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, the first such challenge to Beijing in the strategic waterway since U.S. President Donald Trump took office.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the USS Dewey traveled close to the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbors.

The so-called freedom of navigation operation, which is sure to anger China, comes as Trump is seeking Beijing’s cooperation to rein in ally North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

China, Russia to Conduct Join Military Drills in South China Sea

Beijing will also deploy anti-missile defense tests to counter U.S. system in South Korea

The Chinese Defense Ministry announced Thursday that China and Russia will conduct joint naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea in September despite a recent international tribunal ruling that rejected Beijing’s claims to the strategic waterway.

Defense Ministry spokesman Senior Col. Yang Yujun called the drills “routine” at a news conference and vowed they were not directed at any countries.

China starts work on Horn of Africa military base in Djibouti, defence ministry confirms

In the military, logistics is a key component of being able to project power. You cannot forward supplies and manpower without it. Even if it’s ‘logistics’, it’s the first step towards China’s militarization of the African continent, regardless of what the PLA says. It’s insane that knowledgeable people would fall for such simple wordplay disinformation. What’s more is that this is more proof that the United States (along with Britain) is losing the strategic gateways to the world, as Biblically prophesied.

 

A People’s Liberation Army Navy soldier stands guard as Chinese citizens board a Chinese naval ship at a port in Aden last year. Photo: Reuters

 

 

Facilities reflect the PLA’s ambition to expand its international presence and influence, analysts say

China’s first overseas naval base – which is under construction in Djibouti – will be concerned chiefly with logistical tasks rather than projecting power, at least for now, mainland analysts say.

The defence ministry on Thursday confirmed construction of the base’s infrastructure and facilities had begun.

Bill Gertz Talks Cyberwar, S. China Sea, IS Intel Scandal on Secure Freedom Radio

When the United States goes into an economic crisis, expect China and Russia to take advantage of it and kick America while it’s down. This includes cyberattacks as mentioned or even economic warfare. In the end it will all lead to war against the United States because these are only a means to that end. Their purpose is to weaken America until it’s vulnerable enough for just that.

 

 

Washington Free Beacon Senior Editor Bill Gertz appeared on Secure Freedom Radio on Friday to discuss President Obama’s tepid response to Chinese expansion in the South China Sea, Russian cyberattacks against the United States, and an emerging scandal over the alleged politicization of intelligence about the Islamic State.

Gertz told host Michael Ledeen that President Obama has instructed the U.S. Navy not to challenge Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea.

China’s New Airstrip to Heighten Underwater Rivalry

Chinese dredging vessels purportedly seen in waters around Mischief Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands (Reuters photo)

 

Hong Kong:  China’s apparent construction of a third airstrip on its man-made islands in the disputed South China Sea could fill a gap in Beijing’s anti-submarine defences, complicating operations for the US Navy and its allies, Chinese and Western experts said.

While most attention has been on the power projection China would get from its new islands in the Spratly archipelago, China could also use them to hunt rival submarines in and beyond the strategic waterway, they said.