‘Chinese structures in South China Sea can house missiles’

China, in an early test of US President Donald Trump, has nearly finished building almost two dozen structures on artificial islands in the South China Sea that appear designed to house longrange surface-to-air missiles, two US officials said.

The development is likely to raise questions about whether and how the US will respond, given its vows to take a tough line on China in the South China Sea. China claims almost all the waters, which carry a third of the world’s maritime traffic.

Building the concrete structures with retractable roofs on Subi, Mischief and Fiery Cross reefs, part of the Spratly Islands chain where China already has built military-length airstrips, could be considered a military escalation, the US officials said in recent days.

“It is not like the Chinese to build anything in the South China Sea just to build it, and these structures resemble others that house SAM batteries, so the logical conclusion is that’s what they are for,” said a US intelligence official, referring to surface-to-air missiles. Another official said the structures appeared to be 20m long and 10-m high.

A Pentagon spokesman said the US remained committed to “non-militarisation in the South China Sea” and urged all claimants to take actions consistent with international law.

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he was aware of the report, though did not say if China was planning on placing missiles on the reefs. “China carrying out normal construction activities on its own territory, including deploying necessary and appropriate territorial defense facilities, is a normal right under international law for sovereign nations,” he said.