China is ramping up
its artificial islands in the South China Sea.
They’re loaded up with airplanes, guns, and other weapons.
And these photos prove it.
Welcome to China Uncensored.
I’m Chris Chappell.
The Chinese Communist Party wants to dominate the world.
And one of its first targets is complete control over the South China Sea.
China has gradually taken over reefs and shoals in the region—including ones claimed by
the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, and several other countries.
Back in 2015, Chinese leader Xi Jinping pledged no militarization of those disputed islands.
That was while he was on a state visit to the White House.
He said the construction activities China is undertaking don’t target or impact any
country, and that China doesn’t intend to pursue militarization.
But satellite imagery shows just how much the Chinese Communist Party keeps its promises.
For example, this is Fiery Cross Reef in 2006 and then in 2022.
It’s one of the many reefs and shoals and rocks that are part of the Spratly Islands.
Which are very close to the Philippines.
But if you draw your Nine-Dash Line like so...voilà!
They’ve belonged to China since ancient times!
Images taken from space help expose China’s militarization.
But now we also get to see what’s going on close-up.
That’s thanks to Filipino photojournalist Ezra Acayan.
His photos show how “Fiery Cross boasts hangars for fighter jets, bombers, and military
transport planes, and has a deep harbor for accommodating warships and ships of the China
Coast Guard.”
See, last month, Acayan flew close to the islands in a plane to take aerial photos.
That was a pretty gutsy thing to do, considering how many guns are on those islands.
Also, tons of other weapons.
Fiery Cross even has a Shaanxi KJ-500.
It’s one of China’s “airborne early warning and control” planes.
Here’s a closeup of what that kind of plane looks like.
Basically it carries a radar, so it can be used to identify enemy planes and missiles
during battle.
It can also be used for surveillance and intelligence gathering.
Speaking of radar, as you can see from this photo of Fiery Cross Reef, the runway is flanked
by communications equipment, including a bunch of radar domes.
They really love their domes.
From this angle, you can see another series of domed towers and a four-door garage structure
on a concrete pad.
These could be used to store and deploy planes, helicopters, or even missile launchers.
Now let’s look at Mischief Reef, another feature in the Spratly Islands.
Which again, are very close to the Philippines.
Over the past decade, the Chinese military has built it up substantially.
Now it has a lot of facilities.
Including a full-size runway long enough for fighters to bombers,
and plenty of airplane hangars.
If you zoom in on this photo, you can see a pair of Type 022 stealth ships.
They’re fast missile boats that can carry up to 8 anti-ship missiles and a 30mm gun.
Here’s what they look like in another setting.
They not only serve as patrols, but could potentially work as attack swarms in blue-water
warfare.
And there’s even more after the break.
Welcome back.
Another big artificial island China has militarized is Subi Reef.
As you can see in these satellite photos, the Chinese military has also built it up
a lot.
The US military says Subi Reef is now fully militarized.
It has missiles, aircraft hangars, radar systems and other military facilities.
That’s all the more obvious thanks to these recent aerial photos.
They show four-door garage facilities, and at least one radar dome.
There are also smaller, fighter-sized hangars set closer to the runway.
Anothing thing Subi Reef, Mischief Reef, and Fiery Cross Reef all have in common is lots
of what appear to be housing facilities.
Quite a lot of people could be living there.
That gives the Chinese Communist Party greater claim to the territory—especially if there
are civilians.
And it makes it much tricker for the US or other countries to deal with.
But even the CCP’s smaller military installations can pack a punch.
Calderon Reef is one of them.
Here it is in February 2014, then in December that year, as they start dredging sand and
build up some land.
Now zoom in and you can see in May 2022 what they’ve been building.
There was definitely not an island there before.
This aerial photo shows radar domes, plus a tall tower that could be used to direct
weapon systems.
“These would provide highly-localized defense against low-flying air threats, like cruise
missiles, aircraft, and drones, as well as protection against vessels near the island.”
If you zoom in close, you can also see a truck-mounted phased array radar and a bunch of stuff covered
in camouflage tarps.
Another small military facility is Hughes Reef.
Big changes between 2008... and 2014.
Zoom in on how it looks in 2022, and you can see they’ve done quite a bit of landfill.
This aerial photo shows what looks like a communications tower and a helicopter pad
in the middle.
Perfect!
Since the Chinese navy has been working on new anti-submarine helicopters.
Another small man-made island is Gaven Reef.
Here it is in 2007... then in 2014.
And a close up of the built-up part earlier this year.
This artificial island is just 18 miles from Taiping Island.
Taiping is a natural island in the South China Sea.
It’s been controlled by Taiwan for more than 70 years.
They use it as a base for their military plus search and rescue operations.
But now the CCP has built up Gaven Reef, just a few miles away.
And aerial photos show platforms sporting 76mm deck guns, large domes, and a harbor.
Which means it could provide a strategic base to launch an attack on Taiwan.
Dozens of Chinese ships have swarmed the area before.
According to the Filipino military, as many as 84 vessels were spotted in one instance
last year.
Now those six artificial islands I’ve mentioned are not all the ones China has militarized.
They’re just the ones we have recent aerial photos of.
China is militarizing lots of other parts of the South China Sea as well.
Why?
Well, according to Chinese state-run media, it’s for “safeguarding peace and stability.”
And if you oppose the Chinese Communist Party’s plans for taking over even more territory,
you’ll get a taste of what they really mean by “safeguarding peace.”
So what do you think?
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Once again, I’m Chris Chappell.
Thanks for watching China Uncensored.