Beijing to extend military reach, build lighthouses even in disputed waters

■ South China Sea a major concern

● China is comparing its island reclamation project to ordinary construction going on in other parts of the country, such as the building of roads and apartments

● Official media also said that China would build two 50metre- tall lighthouses on reefs in the Spratly islands, which are also claimed by Vietnam and the Philippines

Beijing/ Taipei/ Sydney, May 26: China said Tuesday it would project its military power further beyond its sea borders and more assertively in the air, defending the construction of artificial islands which sparked concern in Washington.

The People’s Liberation Army Navy will put greater emphasis on “open seas protection” rather than “offshore waters defence” alone, the state council said in a white paper.

At the same time, the Air Force will shift focus “from territorial air defence to both defence and offence”, it said.

The Army will increase its global mobility and artillery forces will strengthen capabilities for “medium and long- range precision strikes”, it added.

The paper was released with China and the US at loggerheads over Beijing’s rapid island- building in contested parts of the South China Sea, which the country claims almost in its entirety.

Military spokesman Yang Yujun said Tuesday the island- building was “beneficial to the whole of international society” because it aided China’s search and rescue efforts and environmental protection work.

Official media also said Tuesday that China would build two 50- metre- tall lighthouses on reefs in the Spratly islands, which are also claimed by Vietnam and the Philippines.

The facilities will be built on the Cuarteron and Johnson South reefs, the Xinhua news agency cited officials as saying. The latter saw a battle between the Chinese and Vietnamese navies in 1988.

China is comparing its island reclamation project in the South China Sea to ordinary construction going on in other parts of the country, such as the building of roads and apartments. Defence ministry spokesman Yang Yujun on Tuesday said the issue has been exaggerated by those seeking an excuse to take unspecified actions in response, a clear reference to the United States.

Meanwhile, Taiwan launched a peace plan Tuesday in what it said was a bid to ease growing tensions in the South China Sea, as Beijing steps up development of a disputed island chain.

But China responded by reiterating the importance of “national territorial sovereignty” and was unlikely to come to the negotiating table, analysts said.

“As this year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, the countries surrounding the South China Sea should heed the lessons of history and commit themselves to advancing regional peace and prosperity,” Taiwan’s President Ma Ying- jeou said at the opening of an international law conference in Taipei.

He called for regional cooperation to enable claimants to share natural resources, but gave no further detail on how the “South China Sea peace initiative” would be implemented.

Also, Japan will join a major US- Australian military exercise for the first time in a sign of growing security links between the three countries as tensions fester over China’s island building in the South China Sea. Only 40 Japanese officers and soldiers will take part in drills involving 30,000 US and Australian troops in early July.

— AFP, AP, Reuters