By Christopher Bodeen, The Associated Press

BEIJING — China appears to have installed anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapons on its man-made islands in the strategically vital South China Sea, a U.S. security think tank says, upping the stakes in what many see as a potential Asian powder keg. The Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington released the images through its Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative and said they showed “large anti-aircraft guns and probable close-in weapons systems,” which can theoretically thwart cruise-missile attacks. The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said its findings, made available first to Reuters on Wednesday, were based on analysis of satellite images of islands in the strategic trade route, where territory is claimed by several countries. In a statement, China’s Defense Ministry repeated that development on the islands was mainly for civilian purposes, but added that defensive measures were “appropriate and legal.”

“For example, were someone to be threatening you with armed force outside your front door, would you not get ready even a slingshot?” the ministry statement said. “It would mean that the Chinese are militarizing the area, which is not good.”

CSIS experts wrote that China’s new island armaments “show that Beijing is serious about defense of its artificial islands in case of an armed contingency in the South China Sea.”

“Among other things, they would be the last line of defense against cruise missiles launched by the United States or others against these soon-to-be-operational air bases,” the report said. The comments left little doubt that such installations were part of China’s plan to deepen its territorial claim over the islands, which has raised tensions with its neighbors and the United States over freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest commercial waterways. Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam also claim territory in the waterway through which an estimated $5 trillion in global trade passes each year, while the US Navy insists on its right to operate throughout the area, including in waters close to China’s new outposts. The United States has previously criticized what it called China's militarization of its maritime outposts, and stressed the need for freedom of navigation by conducting periodic air and naval patrols near them that have angered Beijing. The U.S. has committed to beefing up its military presence in the area, although new uncertainty has been introduced by incoming president Donald Trump, who has called for a reconsideration of its commitments to its Asian allies, including Japan and South Korea, while simultaneously criticizing China and speaking with the president of China’s longtime rival Taiwan.
Satellite images show anti-aircraft guns and missile defence systems being built on artificial islands in the South China Sea; China had previously committed to not militarising its controversial developments in the region.