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| Woody Island, in the Paracels Group |
By Thomas WATKINS
China is on its way to securing "de facto" control of the South China Sea, a top US admiral warned Thursday, amid growing unease over Beijing's continued military build up in the contested waterway.
By building air bases and hardened bunkers on tiny islands, some of which are reclaimed from the sea, and by installing sophisticated radar and missile defense systems, China has shown it is determined to achieve military primacy in the region, Admiral Harry Harris said.
Beijing's claims to almost all of the South China Sea are widely disputed and the body of water has long been viewed as a potential flashpoint.
"If China continues to arm all of the bases they have reclaimed in the South China Sea, they will change the operational landscape in the region," Harris told Pentagon reporters.
"Short of war with the United States, China will exercise de facto control of the South China Sea."
Harris, who heads up the US Pacific Command, visited the Pentagon after several hearings in Washington at which he warned lawmakers about the pace of China's maritime militarization.
Read the full story at SpaceDaily