Beijing’s Buildup In The South China Sea Continues

A 2016 satellite image shows what is claimed to be an under-construction airstrip at Chinese-controlled Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands. (DigitalGlobe)

Los Angeles Times: What the coronavirus hasn’t stopped: Beijing’s buildup in the South China Sea

SINGAPORE — Even as China’s President Xi Jinping mobilized a “people’s war” against the coronavirus, Chinese warships were busy on another front: maintaining their pressure campaign in the South China Sea, where a buildup of military activity foreshadows a new U.S.-China cold war.

Across the resource-rich waterway, China Coast Guard and paramilitary vessels have continued to harass fishing boats, military ships and oil and gas rigs belonging to smaller Southeast Asian states that reject Beijing’s sweeping claims over nearly the entire sea.

Last month, the Chinese navy carried out combat drills with a fleet of submarines, fighter jets and fast-moving missile boats. The exercises occurred as a U.S. aircraft carrier in the region was sidelined thousands of miles away in Guam, its crew members and former commander sickened with COVID-19.

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WNU Editor: China is also focusing on the East China Sea .... Is China Getting Ready for an East China Sea Showdown? (National Interest).