The Chinese military is building a new counter-stealth radar system on a contested reef in the South China Sea that would considerably increase its regional surveillance capabilities, according to a September 16 satellite image.
An October 26 report by The Guardian stated that studies by Chatham House, a UK think tank, showed China is building a launchpad for an anti-ship missile battery, together with the sophisticated radar system, on Triton Island, located on the south-west corner of the Paracel archipelago.
“By constraining the U.S. ability to operate stealth aircraft, and threaten stealth aircraft, these capabilities in the South China Sea send a powerful signal to U.S. allies and partners in the region that the U.S. advanced technologies may not be able to stand up to the PLA (People’s Liberation Army),” commented Michael Dahm, senior resident fellow, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
This project, particularly if the radar operates as advertised, could raise the stakes for U.S. operations in the disputed region, as the radar will greatly boost China’s signal interception and electronic warfare capabilities across the Paracel Islands and give rise to a larger surveillance network across much of the South China Sea. Dahm said China has been countering advanced stealth capabilities of the U.S. for thirty years.
Similar Chinese’s counter-stealth radars, also referred to as synthetic impulse and aperture radar (SIAR), were constructed to the south on Subi reef in the Spratly Island chain, and on Hainan Island, to the north. A SIAR on Triton Island will address a gap in its coverage. The SIAR can reportedly monitor the U.S.’ B-2 Spirit bomber and fifth-generation F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II fighter jets.
Gregory Poling, director, Southeast Asia Program and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, Center for Strategic and International Studies, believed other than SIAR, China has built dozens of different types of radars across the Spratlys and Paracels over the last 10 years.
According to media reports in August 2023, China has reportedly also built on Triton Island an airstrip, relatively short and narrow measuring merely over 2,000 feet long and about 45 feet wide, and could potentially accommodate short take-off and landing fixed-wing aircraft, turboprops, light planes, as well as helicopters and drones, which could significantly enhance logistics for military operations.
Satellite images also showed a large new work area which included what looked like a cement plant, highlighting China’s prowess at construction and staking a physical claim at the disputed waters.
Triton, a reef about 120 ha in size, is situated in the farthest south-west corner of the Paracels, an archipelago that has been dominated by China since a violent skirmish with Vietnam in 1974.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, notwithstanding an international tribunal ruling in 2016 dismissing its arguments. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also share overlapping claims in the disputed waterway.
The past two years have shown an increase in Chinese pugilism, with analysts cautioning that such clashes risk escalating into a wider conflict which may involve the U.S.
Recently, Vietnam slammed Chinese law enforcement personnel for allegedly attacking 10 Vietnamese fishermen and confiscating about four tons of fish catch in one such confrontation near the resource-rich Paracel Islands. There were also numerous confrontations between Chinese and Filipino vessels.
The U.S. has a mutual defense treaty with the Philippines, and has vowed to defend the Philippines in the South China Sea. The U.S. has noted a rise in China’s intelligence-gathering capabilities in the South China Sea, particularly at the Spratlys, allegedly to improve China’s ability to detect and challenge activities by rival claimants, and to provide a range of response options.
Photo credit: iStock/ e-crow
