A satellite image has revealed China’s latest bold move in its sinister plan to seize control of the hotly contested South China Sea.
Its latest move is apparent in a high-resolution photograph released by Israeli satellite company ImageSat International. It shows a balloon floating over Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands.
It’s a diplomatic tightrope. But Beijing recognises that the high-profile presence of combat aircraft would put the lie to its assertion that it is not militarising the South China Sea. Mischief Reef is the closest to the Philippines of seven artificial island fortresses built in the Spratly Islands by China. In essence, these balloons complete an overlapping network of radars and satellites reaching far into the South China Sea to detect low-flying aircraft and small vessels.China’s home-built 001A aircraft carrier on a recent test voyage. Picture: PLANMischief Reef has been the subject of 21 Freedom of Navigation operations by the United States Navy.
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