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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

China has upped the ante by placing missile launchers on Woody Island [theguardian.com] in the South China Sea:

China has placed surface-to-air missile equipment on one of the disputed islands in the South China Sea, newly published satellite images appear to show.

Tensions in the region could rise after two batteries of eight missile launchers and a radar system were deployed to Woody Island in the past week, Fox News reported [foxnews.com], citing images taken by the private company ImageSat International. An image dated 14 February showed the presence of the equipment, whereas the same area looked to be empty in an image dated 3 February.

Fox News cited a US official official as saying the images appeared to show the HQ-9 air defence system, which had a range of about 125 miles (200km) and could therefore threaten any nearby planes. Reuters news agency also reported that it had received confirmation of 'an apparent deployment' by China.

[...] A US navy destroyer sailed close to the disputed Paracel Island chain [theguardian.com], which includes Woody Island, in a "freedom of navigation" exercise late last month. China, Taiwan and Vietnam have competing claims in the area and the US has objected to any "militarising" of the islands. China branded that action as "highly dangerous and irresponsible" and accused the US of being "the biggest cause of militarisation in the South China Sea".

Previously: Chinese Weaponry Spotted on Artificial Islands [soylentnews.org]
U.S. Spy Plane Deploys to Singapore Amid South China Sea Tensions [soylentnews.org]

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