China has set up a sophisticated surface-to-air missile system on Woody Island in the disputed area of the South China Sea, satellite imagery suggests.
The photograph shows two batteries of eight surface-to-air missile launchers as well as a radar system on the island, says Fox News.
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Woody Island is claimed jointly by China, Taiwan and Vietnam and forms part of the Paracel Island chain, which was the site of a show of force by the US navy several weeks ago. In an operation, described by the United States as a "freedom of navigation" exercise, an armed destroyer sailed close to the islands.
The revelation of China's missile deployment, which was later confirmed by the Taiwanese defence ministry, will "reverberate through an Asean [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] leaders meeting in California, hosted by Barack Obama", says The Guardian.
According to a US military official, the missile battery "would pose a threat to any airplanes, civilians or military, flying close by".
President Obama has said the US will "continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows", while the US Department of Defence called on "all claimants to halt land reclamation, construction and militarisation of features in the South China Sea".
A Chinese official said: "Deploying necessary national defence facilities on its own territory is China's exercise of self-preservation and defence, a right granted by international law to sovereign states. It does not impede freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea that all countries are entitled to under international law."
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