China recently deployed two artillery pieces on one of its artificial islands in the contested South China Sea, US defence officials said Friday, in an unprecedented move that will heighten suspicion of Beijing's intentions. The heavy weapons, since removed, posed no security threat but their positioning - within range of territory claimed by Vietnam - underscored Washington's concerns that China is pursuing a huge island-building project for military purposes, officials said.
The two motorized artillery pieces were spotted on a manmade island about a month ago in the Spratly Islands, a defence official who spoke on condition of anonymity told AFP, citing surveillance imagery. It is the first time that China has been accused of deploying artillery or other weaponry on their manmade islands in the area. "We can confirm we have identified some weapons on one of these reclaimed Chinese islands," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steven Warren told reporters.
"The militarization of these islands is something we're opposed to." China and the United States have been engaged in an escalating war of words over the South China Sea, where Beijing has rapidly built up reefs over about 2,000 acres (800 hectares) - including 1,500 acres just since January. On Wednesday, US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter, who is on a 10-day tour of Asia, called for an "immediate and lasting halt to land reclamation by any claimant."
The United States has insisted the areas claimed by China are international waters and airspace, and has sent out surveillance planes and naval ships to drive home the point. Last week the Chinese military ordered a US Navy P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft to leave an area above the heavily disputed Spratly Islands. But the American plane ignored the demand and stated it was flying in what US officials deem to be international airspace.
Beijing has defended its dredging work in the contested waters and accused Washington of singling out China over an activity that other countries in the region are also engaged in. China insists it has sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea, a major global shipping route and believed to be home to a wealth of oil and gas reserves. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also claim parts of the sea. Tensions in the South China Sea will likely dominate the Shangri-La Dialogue this week in Singapore, a major annual security conference that gathers defence ministers and top brass from across Asia. Carter is due to deliver a speech at the conference.