Beijing cements South China Sea land grab with missile defense sites while the world awaits US respo

February 28, 2017

published: 2017-02-24 14:47:24 New satellite photography from the South China Sea confirms a nightmare for the US and champions of free navigation everywhere — Beijing has reinforced surface-to-air missiles sites in the Spratly Islands.For years now, China has been building artificial islands in the South China Sea and militarizing them with radar outposts and missiles. The latest move seems to have been months in the making, so it’s not in response to any particular US provocation, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative. China previously deployed close-in weapons systems, which often serve on ships as a last line of defense against incoming missiles, and have toggled on and off between positioning surface-to-air missiles on Woody island in the Paracel Islands chain. But this time it’s different, according to CSIS’ Bonnie Glasser, director of the China Power Project. China has not yet deployed the actual launchers, but Satellite imagery shows the new surface-to-air missile sites are buildings with retractable roofs, meaning Beijing can hide launchers, and that they’ll be protected from small arms fire. “This will provide them with more capability to defend the island itself and the installations on them,” said Glaser.

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