naturalfeature:subi reef

China installs cruise missiles on South China Sea outposts: CNBC | Reuters
▻https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-china-missiles/china-installs-cruise-missiles-on-south-china-sea-outposts-cnbc-report-idUS

https://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20180503&t=2&i=1258002327&w=1200&r=LYNXMPEE420EL#.jpg

China has installed anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missile systems on three of its outposts in the South China Sea, U.S. news network CNBC reported on Wednesday, citing sources with direct knowledge of U.S. intelligence reports.

The installations, if confirmed, would mark the first Chinese missile deployments in the Spratly Islands, where several Asian countries including Vietnam and Taiwan have rival claims.

China has made no mention of any missile deployments but says its military facilities in the #Spratlys are purely defensive, and that it can do what it likes on its own territory.
[…]
CNBC quoted unnamed sources as saying that according to U.S. intelligence assessments, the missiles were moved to Fiery Cross Reef, Subi Reef and Mischief Reef within the past 30 days.

#mer_de_Chine_méridionale
#Spratleys

Photos suggest China built reinforced hangars on disputed islands: CSIS | Reuters
▻http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-china-images-idUKKCN10K08P

▻http://s2.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20160809&t=2&i=1148970661&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=644&pl=429&sq=&r=LY
Construction are seen on Subi Reef in the Spratly islands, in the disputed South China Sea in this July 24, 2016 satellite image released by the Asian Maritime Transparency Initiative at Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) to Reuters on August 9, 2016.
CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative/DigitalGlobe/Handout via REUTERS

Satellite photographs taken in late July show China appears to have built reinforced aircraft hangars on its holdings in disputed South China Sea islands, a Washington-based research group said.

The hangars on Fiery Cross, Subi and Mischief Reefs in the Spratly islands have room for any fighter jet in the Chinese air force, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a report on the photographs.

Fiery Cross

https://i0.wp.com/gcaptain.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2016-08-09T165527Z_1143250266_S1BETUMDATAB_RTRMADP_3_SOUTHCHINASEA-CHINA-IMAGES.jpg

Subi Reef
(note que l’alignement (impressionnant !) d’avions est parfaitement fictif, c’est juste pour faire joli…)

https://i0.wp.com/gcaptain.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2016-08-09T163756Z_2100240560_S1BETUMBMIAA_RTRMADP_3_SOUTHCHINASEA-CHINA-IMAGES.jpg

Mischief Reef
(idem pour les avions fictifs)

https://i1.wp.com/gcaptain.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2016-08-09T162345Z_1765763692_S1BETUMAFPAA_RTRMADP_3_SOUTHCHINASEA-CHINA-IMAGES.jpg

#Mer_de_Chine_méridionale

China’s Missile Move Sparks Questions on South China Sea Plans - gCaptain
▻https://gcaptain.com/chinas-missile-move-sparks-questions-on-south-china-sea-plans

https://i0.wp.com/gcaptain.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2016-02-10T052905Z_685433720_GF10000302882_RTRMADP_3_SOUTHCHINASEA-INDIA-USA.jpg

China sparked new questions about its intentions in the South China Sea after it deployed surface-to- air missiles to a contested island, a move that came just months after President Xi Jinping promised not to militarize the disputed atolls.

Satellite images showed two batteries of eight HQ-9 surface-to-air missile launchers and a radar system were deployed on Woody Islandsometime after Feb. 3, Fox News reported. That’s just days after the U.S. rebuffed China’s efforts to control one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes by sending a warship into the area.

The positioning of the missiles casts further doubt on Xi’s pledge at a summit with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington in late September not to militarize the islands and suggests China is prepared to escalate tensions in order defend its claims, particularly with a ruling expected this year on an arbitration case brought by the Philippines to an international tribunal.

#Spratleys récif de #Subi

Angry China says shadowed U.S. warship near man-made islands in disputed sea - Yahoo News
▻http://news.yahoo.com/u-navy-destroyer-patrols-near-islands-built-china-012942916.html

http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/zq3NBEhfGrqPNCrWTgoCbg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3NfbGVnbztpbD1wbGFuZTtxPTc1O3c9NjAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2015-10-27T064533Z_1_LYNXNPEB9Q09T_RTROPTP_2_SOUTHCHINASEA-USA.JPG

A U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer sailed close to China’s man-made islands in the disputed South China Sea on Tuesday, drawing an angry rebuke from Beijing, which said it warned and followed the American vessel.

The patrol by the #USS_Lassen was the most significant U.S. challenge yet to the 12-nautical-mile territorial limits China asserts around the islands in the Spratly archipelago and could ratchet up tension in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

One U.S. defense official said the USS Lassen sailed within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef. A second defense official said the mission, which lasted a few hours, included Mischief Reef and would be the first in a series of freedom-of-navigation exercises aimed at testing China’s territorial claims.

China’s Foreign Ministry said the “relevant authorities” monitored, followed and warned the USS Lassen as it “illegally” entered waters near islands and reefs in the Spratlys without the Chinese government’s permission.

“China will resolutely respond to any country’s deliberate provocations,” the ministry said in a statement that gave no details on precisely where the U.S. ship sailed.