US admiral says China fully militarized at least 3 of many islands

China has fully militarized at least three of several islands it built in the disputed South China Sea, arming them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment and fighter jets in an increasingly aggressive move that threatens all nations operating nearby, a top U.S. military commander said Sunday.

U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Adm. John C. Aquilino said the hostile actions were in stark contrast to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s past assurances that Beijing would not transform the artificial islands in contested waters into military bases. The efforts were part of China’s flexing its military muscle, he said.

“I think over the past 20 years we’ve witnessed the largest military buildup since World War II by the PRC,” Aquilino told The Associated Press in an interview, using the initials of China’s formal name. “They have advanced all their capabilities and that buildup of weaponization is destabilizing to the region.”

There were no immediate comments from Chinese officials. Beijing maintains its military profile is purely defensive, arranged to protect what it says are its sovereign rights. But after years of increased military spending, China now boasts the world’s second-largest defense budget after the U.S. and is rapidly modernizing its force with weapons systems including the J-20 stealth fighter, hypersonic missiles and two aircraft carriers, with a third under construction.

Aquilino spoke with the AP onboard a U.S. Navy reconnaissance aircraft that flew near Chineseheld outposts in the South China Sea’s Spratly archipelago, one of the most hotly contested regions in the world. During the patrol, the P-8A Poseidon plane was repeatedly warned by Chinese callers that it illegally entered what they said was China’s territory and ordered the plane to move away.

“China has sovereignty over the Spratly islands, as well as surrounding maritime areas. Stay away immediately to avoid misjudgment,” one of the stern radio messages said in a veiled threat.

But the U.S. Navy plane dismissed the multiple warnings and pressed on defiantly with its reconnaissance in brief but tense moments witnessed by two AP journalists invited onboard.

“I am a sovereign immune United States naval aircraft conducting lawful military activities beyond the national airspace of any coastal state,” a U.S. pilot radioed back to the Chinese. “Exercising these rights is guaranteed by international law and I am operating with due regard to the rights and duties of all states.”

Arkansas shooting: One person was killed and at least 24 others, including children, were wounded in a shooting at a car show in Arkansas on Saturday night, authorities said.

State troopers were dispatched to Dumas, Arkansas, a city of 4,000 people about 90 miles southeast of Little Rock, about 7:25 p.m., said Bill Sadler, a spokesperson for the State Police.

One person was in custody, and authorities are searching for “others who may have been firing into the crowd of people,” the State Police said.

Authorities did not immediately release details about the gunman or a possible motive for the shooting.

Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock treated six minors who had gunshot wounds, said Hilary DeMillo, a hospital spokesperson. Most of the patients were treated and released by late Sunday morning.

Car kills Carnival fans: A car slammed at high speed into Carnival revelers in a small town in southern Belgium early Sunday, killing six people and leaving 10 more with life-threatening injuries, authorities said, adding many others were lightly injured.

“What should have been a great party turned into a tragedy,” said Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden.

The prosecutor’s office, which gave the death toll, also said two local people in their 30s were arrested at the scene in Strepy-Bracquegnies, 30 miles south of Brussels. Prosecutors said, in the early stages of their investigation, there were no elements to suspect a terror motive.

In an age-old tradition, Carnival revelers had gathered at dawn, intending to pick up others at their homes along the way, to finally hold their famous festivity again after it was banned for the past two years to counter the spread of COVID-19.

Leaving palace: South Korea’s incoming president said Sunday he will abandon the mountainside presidential palace of Blue House and establish his office at the Defense Ministry compound in central Seoul to better communicate with the public.

The plan drew an immediate backlash from critics of the relocation plan, who warned that a hasty movement of top government offices would undermine South Korea’s national security, require excessive spending and violate property rights of residents in the new presidential office area.

Relocating the presidential office was one of President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol’s main campaign promises. The conservative former top prosecutor whose single five-year term begins on May 10 said the location and design of the Blue House have fed criticism that South Korean leaders are cut off from the public and wield excessive power.

Koreas tensions: North Korea fired suspected artillery pieces into the sea Sunday, South Korea’s military said, days after the North’s latest missile launch ended in failure amid the country’s recent burst of weapons testing activity.

There is speculation that North Korea could soon try to launch its developmental longest-range ballistic missile to bolster its arsenal and dial up pressure on the United States to wrest concessions as negotiations remain stalled. South Korea’s military suggested North Korea’s midair missile explosion last Wednesday involved parts of the Hwasong-17 missile, its biggest weapon.

On Sunday, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said it detected firings likely from multiple rocket launch systems off North Korea’s west coast.

Hong Kong outbreak: Hong Kong’s leader said Sunday that the government would consider lifting strict social distancing measures as new COVID-19 infections in the city continued trending downward.

“I wouldn’t promise now that there’s room for adjustment,” Chief Executive Carrie Lam said. “But following a review, we have a duty to account for the findings in this review and the direction we will take.”

Hong Kong is in the middle of a massive outbreak, recording over 1 million total cases in the city of 7.4 million.

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU/AP Rescuers try to recover bodies Sunday after a cargo vessel hit a ferry carrying dozens of people in Narayanganj, outside Dhaka, Bangladesh. Six bodies were recovered. It was not clear immediately how many are missing.