By David Tweed

(Bloomberg) — China could also be constructing a high-frequency radar set up within the disputed South China Sea, posing a much bigger risk to the steadiness of energy in one of many world’s busiest waterways than beforehand detected surface-to-air missiles, in line with a report by the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

Construction of radar services at Cuarteron Reef, the southern-most of the options China claims within the Spratly Islands, seems to be practically full, Gregory Poling of CSIS’s Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative wrote. China sparked new questions on its intentions within the South China Sea after surface-to-air missiles have been detected earlier this month on Woody Island, a part of the Paracel Islands northwest of the Spratlys.

“This month’s deployment of HQ-9 surface-to-air missiles on Woody Island in the Paracels, while notable, does not alter the military balance in the South China Sea,” mentioned Poling. “New radar facilities being developed in the Spratlys, on the other hand, could significantly change the operational landscape.”

China claims greater than 80 p.c of the South China Sea in a contest with 5 rivals. Washington is anxious that China’s final aim is the power to exclude it from what it considers worldwide waters. Along with the event of recent runways and air protection capabilities on the islands it occupies within the Spratlys, the radar “speak to a long-term anti-access strategy by China — one that would see it establish effective control over the sea and airspace throughout the South China Sea,” Poling mentioned.

Freedom of Navigation

When requested in regards to the missile deployment, Secretary of State John Kerry mentioned final week that “there is evidence every day that there has been an increase of militarization of one kind or another.” While the U.S. takes no sides on the varied claims, it has taken actions it says are aimed toward making certain the liberty of navigation. More than $5 trillion of products transit the South China Sea annually. China Foreign Minister Wang Yi can be within the U.S. Tuesday to Thursday for talks on the invitation of Kerry.

China says U.S. freedom-of-navigation operations the place it sails navy vessels via territorial zones claimed by China and others quantity to militarization of the area and add to tensions. China dismissed as “hype” media studies in regards to the deployment of HQ-9 missiles on Woody island, the place its navy has had a presence for years.

Shooting Drones

Admiral Scott Swift, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, mentioned final week the most recent deployment of HQ-9 missiles was the third time that China had put them on the island, in line with a report on U.S. Internet web site Military.com. The missiles even have been utilized in workout routines, notably to shoot down a drone, he mentioned.

“There is no difference between China’s deployment of necessary national defense facilities on its own territory and the defense installation by the U.S. in Hawaii,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying mentioned Monday. China contends that the islands it occupies “have been part of China since ancient times.”

White House spokesman Josh Earnest dismissed China’s analogy. “There is no other country that has a claim on Hawaii,” he mentioned. “But yet when you consider the land features in the South China Sea, there are a variety of overlapping territorial claims that a variety of countries have made on those features.” Woody island is claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam.

China’s land reclamation on Cuarteron has expanded the reef to about 52 acres (210,400 sq. meters), in line with Poling. Two possible radar towers have been constructed on the northern portion of the function, and various 65-foot (20-meter) poles have been erected throughout a big part of the southern portion.

These poles might be a high-frequency radar set up, which might considerably bolster China’s capability to watch floor and air site visitors throughout the southern portion of the South China Sea, he mentioned.

© 2016 Bloomberg L.P