China will be able to project “substantial offensive military power” from artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea’s disputed Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) within months, the director of US national intelligence said.
In a Feb. 23 letter to US Seantor John McCain, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Chinese land reclamation and construction work in the Spratlys had established infrastructure needed “to project military capabilities in the South China Sea beyond that which is required for point defense of its outposts.”
“Based on the pace and scope of construction at these outposts, China will be able to deploy a range of offensive and defensive military capabilities and support increased PLAN [People’s Liberation Army Navy] and CCG [China Coast Guard] presence beginning in 2016,” Clapper said in the letter released this week.
Photo: Reuters
“Once these facilities are completed by the end of 2016 or early 2017, China will have significant capacity to quickly project substantial offensive military power to the region,” Clapper said.
The US has voiced concerns about China’s assertive pursuit of territory in the South China Sea. The sea is one of the world’s busiest trade routes and regional nations, including Taiwan, have rival claims, creating a potential flashpoint.
Visiting Washington in September last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) responded to US concerns by saying that China had no intention to militarize its outposts in the Spratlys.
Beijing has said their military roles are to be defensive, but the head of the US Pacific Command last month said that China was “clearly militarizing” the South China Sea with the aim of achieving East Asian hegemony.
The text of Clapper’s letter in response to questions from McCain was published on the news portal of the US Naval Institute. US officials confirmed the content.
Clapper said that while the US had yet to observe deployment of significant Chinese military capabilities in the Spratlys, it had built facilities able to support them, including modern fighter aircraft.
China had already installed military radars at Cuarteron Reef (Huayang Reef, 華陽礁) and Fiery Cross Reef (Yongshu Reef, 永暑礁), and the infrastructure could also allow for the deployment of surface-to-air missiles, coastal defense cruise missiles and an increased presence of warships, he said.
The US had not seen Chinese air force activity in the Spratlys, but warships had stopped at its outposts including a guided-missile frigate and a guided-missile destroyer in December last year and January, Clapper said.
He said tank-landing ships had been employed widely in construction work and the landing of civil aircraft at Fiery Cross Reef in January showed the airstrip there was operational and able to accommodate all Chinese military aircraft.
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