China has deployed an HQ-9 surface-to-air missile (SAM) batteries in its significant development of new military constructions and placement of new naval and aerial military assets in the Paracel Islands, a disputed territory in the South China Sea.
New photos of the islands that make up the Paracels, showing significant construction on all of them, has been published by The Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.
The most developed island is Woody Island, which China has long used as its central base in the region. Woody Island, CSIS notes, now possesses “an airstrip, hangars, and a deployment of HQ-9 surface-to-air missile batteries.”
CSIS found seven new harbors on the islands, as well as one under construction, and five helipads.
While Chinese officials have insisted for years that the South China Sea/ (part of West Philippine Sea) has been under Beijing’s control “since ancient times,” the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague found last year that China’s claims over the territory are invalid and the establishment of military bases in the area are illegal.