China seeking regional hegemony, says US Pacific commander

In a blatant move China has again sent fighter jets to a disputed island where earlier this month it redeployed surface-to-air missiles and appears to be building a sophisticated radar system, according to US officials.

The photographs come only a week after United States (US) officials said China had deployed surface to air missiles in the Paracel islands further north, and with tensions mounting in the strategically vital region.

“We are very concerned that these actions are increasing tensions in the region and are counterproductive”, the USA ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Nina Hachigian, told reporters on Wednesday. He criticized the USA military for operating inside what China claims to be territorial waters near contested areas since October previous year.

According to Poling, the poles could be a high-frequency radar installation that could enhance China’s monitoring capabilities in the South China Sea.

“And the fact is that there have been steps by China, by Vietnam, by others that have unfortunately created an escalatory cycle”, he said Tuesday.

In remarks to Reuters on 23 February, Admiral Harry Harris, the head of US Pacific Command, said China was “clearly militarising” the South China Sea.

“Improved radar coverage is an important piece of the puzzle – along with improved air defences and greater reach for Chinese aircraft – toward China’s goals of establishing effective control over the sea and airspace” throughout China’s South China Sea claims, the CSIS report said.

Other claimants to parts of the waterways are Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.

“Because when you pay attention to what China is deploying, do you also pay attention to other countries which have over the years, on Chinese islands they have occupied, deployed many radars and advanced weaponry?”

“I believe China seeks hegemony in East Asia”, he said. He told the Senate Armed Services Committee that China’s construction and military facilities were changing the operational landscape in the South China Sea.

The deployment was reported as US Secretary of State John Kerry hosted his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in Washington.

USA officials cited the latest aircraft deployment as fresh evidence of Beijing’s efforts to militarize the South China Sea to bolster its maritime claims. The U.S. maintains about 28,500 troops in South Korea and China sees any additional troops or weapons systems as a threat to its security interests in Asia.

The United States and China say they are nearing a deal over UN sanctions on North Korea, raising the prospect of finalizing the resolution to punish the North within this week.

When challenged on this claim, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has insisted that “China’s deployment of limited, necessary defense facilities on its own territory is its exercise of its right of self-defense to which a sovereign state is entitled under global law”, as spokeswoman Hua Chunying argued.

“At the same time, we insist that the issue should be solved peacefully through dialogue and consultations”, Wang said.

The long-standing USA position has been that North Korea needs to disarm first, but the Obama administration has recently indicated some flexibility on this point, although it says Pyongyang remains reluctant to resume talks on its nuclear arsenal.