Recent images of military buildup in the South China Sea show how Beijing has developed these bases. The western alliance faces a more prepared PLA that has militarized into a lethal flashpoint.
Chinese Military Build-up Threatens the Western Alliance
Images were taken of these PLA bases on a reclaimed island that were equipped with everything needed to make western forces bother them. These installations include missile aircraft, airplane hangars, and spy planes too, reported the Sun UK.
Other structures are extra-barracks, and even greenhouses were added after 2018, with an airport and runway about 3.1 km long. Hangars are close to the runway and could house transport aircraft, noted in the Telegraph.
Chinese President Xi Jinping did not admit that China would convert these islands into military bases the South China Sea, except in 2018, images popped up that depicted the PLA establishing these military installations on these islands in Chinese military build-up.
China has been placing radar and communication towers, even fast attack craft, and helipads in these bases. Reports from 2017 indicate that a floating nuclear power plant was installed to provide power for these artificial islands was also built in the South China Sea.
Based on a statement from the Chinese regime in 2017, it was noted that enhancing the livelihood and conditions for work would benefit the personnel manning these islands. Another is to build-up military deterrents in the South China Sea with respect to China's sovereignty.
The expansion of many installations on islands and reefs was also declared in 2017, but clashes in this area of the Indo-Pacific have increased in the last ten years as a threat to the Western alliance.
US Calls for Allies to Get Involved in the South China Sea
During 2014, a shoal belonging to the Philippines was taken; another standoff with Vietnam due to oil occurred in 2014; and a three-way incident involving Malaysia and Vietnam occurred when the PLA Navy shadowed a Malaysian drillship in 2019.
Taiping Island, which is under Taiwanese control, is part of Beijing's military strategy. Early in 2022, the media reported that the Taiwanese military wanted to increase the airstrip at Taiping, but China warned Taipei to proceed at their own risk.
A statement from the spokesman for the Taiwanese Affairs Office in Beijing said that if the island ever works with other forces and works against the Chinese nation, it is in danger of reprisals from Beijing.
Last March, U.S. Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral John Aquilino confirmed via US intelligence that these islands are full-fledged military bases in the South China Sea.
According to Admiral John Aquilino, the People's Republic of China made the biggest development in military power after the Second World War. The latest images show the admiral is correct in his assessment that these are powerful projections of the PLA.
China Violates International Law
One criticism of Beijing is that these military bases have broken international law, with a 2016 ruling calling Manila's claims are legit.
This tribunal stated that China has no right to claim the territory in question or the resources via historic rights, as it claims. Spratly Islands which are fought over by China, Brunei, Manila, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Taiwan, hold rich natural resources.
The Chinese military buildup in the South China Sea has made it hard for the Western alliance push Beijing around.