HQ-9 SAM. (Photo : PLA)
China plans to deploy hundreds of surface-to-air missiles (SAM) by early 2017 to three of the larger islands in the South China Sea it either owns or seized from the Philippines and Vietnam.
American military officials cited by media reports said the missiles are now stored on the island of Hainan in southern China. China administers from Hainan the islands, man-made islands and reefs it illegally occupies in violation of a ruling by the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague last July 12.
These military officials said China will deploy hundreds of these SAM systems to protect three large military airfields recently built on the Spratly Islands and Woody Island.
Woody Island, the largest of the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, has been under mainland China's control since 1956. Vietnam and Taiwan also claim this island.
The Spratly Islands are a disputed group of 14 islands, islets and cays and over 100 reefs in the South China Sea. China claims to own the entire Spratly Island chain, the largest islands of which are occupied by Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The total area of the Spratly Islands 1.77 square kilometers (440 acres) while 2 square kilometers (490 acres) are reclaimed land, mostly reclaimed by the Chinese.
These reclaimed islands are the only ones occupied by the Chinese. In all, the Chinese built seven new islands in the Spratlys.
The islands house ports, three airstrips, radar facilities and other military buildings. The new SAM systems will be deployed to protect these three airstrips.
Images from American intelligence satellites reveal two SAM systems stationed in Hainan. Intelligence officers said the SAM systems were recently moved to Hainan from the mainland, and are believed to be in Hainan only temporarily
They believe Hainan is likely a training site before the missiles are eventually deployed in early 2017 to China's man-made islands in the Spratlys and on Woody Island that houses a large military base and an airfield capable of taking any Chinese military aircraft, including fighters.
Among the SAM systems awaiting deployment to the Spratlys is the HQ-9, a new generation medium- to long-range, active radar homing SAM. It has a slant range of 200 km and carries a 180 kg warhead.
