China deploys fighter jets to South China Sea island

China is “changing the operational landscape” in the South China Sea by deploying missiles and radar as part of an effort to militarily dominate East Asia, a senior US military official said on Tuesday. “Someone turned a blind eye to the USA behavior, but criticized China’s legitimate islands construction over and over again”.

That said, Wang acknowledged that theirs is “a complicated and diversified relationship”.

“These poles could be a high-frequency radar installation, which would significantly bolster China’s ability to monitor surface and air traffic across the southern portion of the South China Sea”, CSIS reportedly said.

Reports on 17 February revealed Beijing was installing two batteries of surface-to-air missiles on Woody Island, located in the Paracels archipelago.

He said militarization was not the responsibility of one party alone and added in apparent reference to USA patrols: “We don’t hope to see any more close-up military reconnaissance, or the dispatch of missile destroyers or strategic bombers to the South China Sea”.

China’s latest South China Sea moves come as US.

The commander of the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet said Monday that he is wary of the situation in the South China Sea being painted as a battle between the United States and China, but added the presence of a Chinese missile system on a disputed island will not stop the U.S. military from flying over the region.

China is being accused of trying to dominate East Asia by deploying missiles and radar in the South China Sea. Kerry, however, did not directly put all the blame to China on what’s happening in the region as other countries, such as the Philippines and Vietnam, have resorted to unilateral measure of reclamation, which according to him, has also contributed to the escalation of the conflict. “There is no question that if the resolution is approved, it will go beyond anything that we have previously passed”, he said. He didn’t name the United States but referred to American flights and ship movements near the contested islands.

As Kerry and Wang met on Tuesday, North Korea promised a “strategic” response if it felt threatened by an upcoming joint US-South Korean military exercise. “Why [have] people chosen to disregard or ignore them?”

Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Secretary of State John Kerry wouldn’t give details of any draft proposal, which would punish North Korea for its recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch that violated UN Security Council resolutions.

The North insists it was merely launching a satellite and that its space programme is purely scientific in nature, but the US, South Korea and even its ally China say such rocket launches are aimed at developing inter-continental ballistic missiles.

And he was unapologetic about USA consideration of a missile defense system for South Korea.

“Our freedom of navigation operations are routine, they are lawful”, said Ambassador Hachigian, speaking from Jakarta on a conference call. “We have made it very clear we are not hungry or anxious or looking for an opportunity to deploy THAAD”.

Wang and Kerry agreed that the goal of the United Nations resolution will be to get North Korean leader Kim Jong-un back to the negotiating table and persuade him to abandon his nuclear program, end the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and urge him to rejoin the worldwide community.