11 February 2017

News Story: Chinese HQ-9 SAM system deployed in South China Sea

China has deployed an HQ-9 surface-to-air missile (SAM) batteries in its significant development of new military constructions and placement of new naval and aerial military assets in the Paracel Islands, a disputed territory in the South China Sea.

New photos of the islands that make up the Paracels, showing significant construction on all of them, has been published by The Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.

The most developed island is Woody Island, which China has long used as its central base in the region. Woody Island, CSIS notes, now possesses “an airstrip, hangars, and a deployment of HQ-9 surface-to-air missile batteries.”

Read the full story at Tankler