China satellite images show you what is being built in South China Sea

By DEREK WATKINS June 29, 2015

China piled on the South China Sea reefs built sand island at least a year, it has built seven new islands in the region. Here is intensifying its actions in this tense geopolitical situation.Read in English

ASIA

PACIFIC OCEAN

South China Sea

AFRICA

AUSTRALIA

China to build the island's speed and scale has caused concerns related to national interests in the region. In June, China announced the launching of the construction work of the island , the marine sediments deposited on coral reefs, will soon be completed. "This statement represents China's diplomatic tone has changed, indicating that China has completed several planned reclamation, the island is now entering the construction phase," US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (Center for Strategic and International Studies ) Asia Maritime Organization under the Transparency Initiative ( Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative ), head of Mira Rapp - Hooper (Mira Rapp-Hooper) said that the organization is a research organization in Washington.At present, China has built a number of port facilities, military buildings and an airstrip on the island. These facilities further reinforces China in the Spratly Islands - Foundation (Spratly Islands, China called the Nansha Islands Annotation) on. Spratly Islands in the South China Sea disputed scattered coral reefs and island groups from mainland China's more than 500 miles (about 800 km).

Canton

Hong Kong

Kunming

CHINESE

LUZON

Hanoi

PACIFIC OCEAN

SOUTH CHINA SEA

HAINAN ISLAND

Manila

Vietnam claims to the Spratly Islands and the Paracel Islands (Paracel Islands, China called the Paracel Islands - Annotation) sovereignty.

Myanmar

LAOS

Paracel Islands

PHILIPPINES

The Philippinesclaims sovereignty

China already begun with the "nine-dotted line" label declaration of sovereignty in their own territory, which extends along the coast line in other countries.

VISAYAS

THAILAND

MINDANAO

BORNEO

VIETNAM

Yangon

SULU SEA

CAMBODIA

Spratly Islands

Bangkok

YONGSHU Island

100 MILES

Ho Chi Minh City

Phnom Penh

CELEBES

Brunei claims sovereignty

GULF OF THAILAND

MALAYSIA

AN A SEA

Malaysia claimed sovereignty

BRUNEI

INDONESIA

SULAWESI

Claimed Indonesia

BORNEO

China , the Philippines , Malaysia , Vietnam , or Taiwan, and other countries occupied islands with color-coded to distinguish .. The same color line shows the range of territorial claims.

Source: CIA, NASA, China Maritime Safety Administration

The new office ocean islands make this part of the region can be used in China, while in the previous, some of these areas relatively distant. Rapp - Dr. Hu Po said that despite the large number of fishery resources in the South China Sea, and there may be rich in oil and natural gas reserves, but China's construction projects more to enhance its territorial claims in the region, rather than the convenience of Natural Resources development.The islands area is too small to build large military facilities, but they are sufficient to help China achieve sustained air and sea patrols. American said it has detected Chinese artillery vehicle activities in this area. These islands also allows China to the fishing activities in the region more control.

Dredger

Sediment Flow

March 2015, dredgers sucking up the bottom sediments piled on Mischief Reef (Mischief Reef) on.

Images from DigitalGlobe via CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative

Jane's Information Group (IHS Jane's) chief image analyst Sean O'Connor (Sean O'Connor), said China is a "latecomer" in the development of the Spratly Islands, and that "from a strategic perspective, it feel left behind. " However, the construction of the island to China has far exceeded the speed of similar actions in other countries in the region pace, which makes the United States is very disturbing. United States know, about $ 1.2 trillion per year (about 7.45 trillion yuan) in bilateral trade through the South China Sea. By the end of May, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter · B · (Ashton B. Carter) accused China in the waters of the action unfold .

Sediments are broken open, and then from the seabed sucked

Sucked up through a floating pipeline stuff for transport

Dredger pulled things are stacked on the reef

Bolt

Reef

Ocean floor

In order to lay the foundation of the island, a few coral reefs have been completely destroyed. This process may also be to the surrounding destruction of marine ecosystems wider range.University of South Florida professor of biological oceanography · E · Frank Muller - Karger (Frank Muller-Karger), said marine sediments "may be rushed back into the sea by the sea, let the dust mass formation of marine organisms may suffocate, and which may be mixed ships and shore facilities under construction to carry from the heavy metals, oil and other chemicals. "Bruce Pratt coral reefs all over the Canary Islands has a rich biodiversity, and these projects will give them a threat.Muller - Karger said that these reefs may not survive in a large number of sediment in seawater.

Half a mile

Dredger

Reef

In June 2015, the Mischief Reef off more than a dozen parked dredgers and auxiliary vessels.

Images from DigitalGlobe via CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative

What island

THE PHILIPPINES CLAIMS SOVEREIGNTY OVER THE LAND

REED BANK

PREVIOUSLY EXISTING RUNWAY

Subi Reef

Dun Qian sandbar

Gaven Reefs

Mischief Reef

YONGSHU Island

Red Reef

Hughes Reef

SOUTH CHINA SEA

PHILIPPINES

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

SPRATLY ISLANDS

West Reef

HE CLAIMED TO MALAYSIA

Sulu Sea

50 MILES

CHINA CLAIMS SOVEREIGNTY OVER THE LAND

Recent construction has been building islands and coral reefs will be marked with a white circle .Colored circles displays these reefs are China , the Philippines , or Malaysia , Vietnam or Taiwanoccupied.

Source: CIA, NASA, China Maritime Safety Administration

Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan have been expanded in the Spratlys islands, but were not compared with the size of the proposed China.

2011

2015

Island Extension

Vietnam reclamation Dun Qian sandbar (Sand Cay) made island project carried out.

Images from DigitalGlobe via CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative

For China, YONGSHU reef (Fiery Cross Reef) is currently the most strategic importance of the new island. The island has a runway to be built on a scale sufficient to land any type of aircraft China, whether it is aircraft or large transport aircraft.But China is not the first country in the region in the construction of airports, where every other country's territorial sovereignty declaration also has its own airport.

Dredging pipeline

Bulwark

Ten thousand feet long runway

Parking apron

Auxiliary Building

Cement Plant

Construction of the breakwater

Temporary loading dock

Port

April 2015 in YONGSHU reef (Fiery Cross Reef) of the island reclamation project.

Image Source: CNES distributed by Airbus DS via IHS Jane's

Before the recent start of large-scale construction, some small facilities on its reefs China Construction has existed for many years. By keeping the former these buildings alone, China can claim now expanded in the building just before the facilities, construction and other countries in this region is not much difference.

There may be a radar device

Port

Cement Plant

Pier

solar panel

Previously existing buildings

May 2015, Johnson South Reef - Construction Engineering (Johnson South Reef, China called Red Reef Annotation) on.

Images from DigitalGlobe via CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative

China-made island project to continue on Mischief Reef and Subi Reef, both of which are large-scale projects. It is unclear what they would build facilities on the island, but the two have a large enough line area, can build its own airport.

Half a mile

cloud

Previously existing buildings

Atoll

Unfinished excavation

aisle

June 2015, China is making the sea bank works on Pitt reef.

Images from DigitalGlobe via CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative

China, Russia to hold joint naval, air drills

 

6 hours ago

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China and Russia will hold joint military drills in the waters and airspace of the Sea of Japan, Beijing said Thursday, the latest defence cooperation between the countries.

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The exercises will take place August 20 to 28 in the Peter the Great Gulf and other areas off the Russian coast, defence ministry spokesman Yang Yujun told reporters.

A key purpose of the drills was to "further enhance their capabilities of jointly coping with maritime security threats", Yang said, adding they will include training in air defence, anti-submarine and surface warfare, and landings.

China will send seven naval ships including a destroyer and a frigate, along with fighter jets and other aircraft, Yang said.

Russia's contingent will include surface vessels, submarines and fixed wing aircraft, he said, adding that both sides will dispatch ship-borne helicopters and marines.

The drills come as Beijing and Moscow intensify cooperation in military, political and economic spheres.

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China's soldiers march through Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on Ma …

In May they conducted their first joint naval exercises in European waters in the Black Sea and Mediterranean. It was China's farthest ever naval exercise from its home waters.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin hold frequent summits and their countries, both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, often take similar stances there on divisive issues such as the conflict in Syria.

The waters of the Peter the Great Gulf, south of Vladivostok, are close to where the borders of Russia, China and North Korea come together.

Beijing and Tokyo are at odds over islands in the East China Sea farther south controlled by Japan but claimed by China, though both sides have made efforts to cool tensions through dialogue, including meetings between Xi and Japanese prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The Japanese government last week claimed that China has put 16 drilling rigs close to its de facto maritime border with Japan, claiming China could exploit undersea reserves over which the two countries are at loggerheads. Yang dismissed Tokyo's claims.

"The purpose of the Japanese accusation against China is to create and play up the China threat theory," he said, adding it provided Japan "an excuse" for new defence legislation.

Japan's lower house of parliament this month approved controversial laws to allow Japanese troops to fight alongside allies when under attack, which has raised concerns in China that Tokyo will take a more robust military stance.

China is planning a huge military parade in early September to commemorate victory over Japanese forces as well as the broader defeat of the Axis powers in World War II.

Russian troops will participate after China's military took part in a march in Moscow in May also marking the end of the conflict.