China is accused of building military facilities on man-made islands in the South China Sea. (Photo : Getty Images)
China is continuing construction on South China Sea islands which shows that Beijing is unstoppable in its pursuit to militarize the disputed waters.
The satellite photos show that there are ongoing land clearing and preparations for a harbor. Military experts believe that there is possible preparation work for constructing military facilities.
The photos were released by the company named Planet Labs and showed that there is also ongoing construction in the nearby Tree Island and other portions in the Paracels.
The Paracels are being claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam.
Carl Thayer, an expert from the Defense Force Academy in Australia, said, "The Paracels are going to be vital to any future Chinese attempt to dominate the South China Sea."
"We can see they are committed to militarization, whatever the official rhetoric tells us, even if they are going to do it bit by bit," he added.
Experts believe that China wants to build on the Parcels as a strategic defense point from Hainan. The islands are geared to be a "maritime backyard."
The Paracels are believed to be the most strategic in the disputed waters and have more strategic importance than the Spratly Islands.
"There's also uncertainty with this young Trump administration, but this is very important work to the Chinese," said Zhang Baohui, a security expert at Hong Kong's Lingnan University.
He added, "The Paracels are vital to defending Hainan, which is in turn important to China's nuclear deterrent."
The release of the photos came before the arrival of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Beijing. The official said that China is not allowed to access the islands on the South China Sea.
China's Ministry of Defense denied that there was work being done in the Paracels.
There were no comments from Vietnam.
