Latest news with #ParacelIslands
The Sun
29-05-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
China floods sea bases with nuke bombers, terrifying satellite pics show – as US warns Xi could SEIZE Taiwanese islands
CHINA has deployed its most dangerous nuke bombers to a tiny but vital island sea base, satellite pictures show. The act of aggression comes after US intelligence warned that China could seize Taiwan's smaller islands as the first step of a full-scale invasion. 8 8 8 Aerial photos show two hulking H-6 bombers on an airfield on Woody Island in the South China Sea, taken on May 19. The long-range aircraft date back to the 1950s and were modelled on Soviet-era warplanes. But they've been souped-up to unleash modern weapons including hypersonic and nuclear missiles. They are considered China's most advanced bombers, and this is the first time they've been spotted on the outpost in five years. The photos also show two Y-20 transport aircraft and a KJ-500 early warning plane around Woody Island on the same day. The KJ-500 is thought vital to China's expansion of its air and sea campaign, as it tackles increasingly-complex operations. Woody is part of the the Paracel Islands, which are roughly halfway between China and Vietnam and the object of an ownership dispute between the two nations. China built a city called Sansha on Woody Island in 2012, which Beijing uses to lord over the rest of the Paracels and the Spratly Islands. Collin Koh, a Singaporean defence expert, said: "China's long-range bombers don't need to be on the Paracels so it does appear to be omni-directional signalling by Beijing - against the Philippines and against the US and other things that are going on." The clear act of aggression ominously plays into a prophecy made by US intelligence earlier this week about China's well-known ambitions to take Taiwan - which Beijing claims is rightfully theirs. When China is most likely to invade Taiwan… expert's chilling forecast A report warned that China could begin seizing Taiwan's smaller outlying islands as a precursor to a full-blown invasion. The vast majority of Taiwan's population lives on the main island, but Taipei also controls a smattering of smaller island chains. These include the Kinmen and Matsu islands close to the Chinese mainland, the Pratas and Taiping in the South China Sea, and the Penghu archipelago nearer to Taiwan. Storming these islands is one of the options on the table for China's military generals - who continue to brandish threats of a full-scale invasion of Taiwan. The danger was aired in the latest Worldwide Threat Assessment report earlier this month by the US Defence Intelligence Agency. The swarm of warplanes is the latest in a series of operation designed to intimidate Taiwan. 8 8 8 Last month, Xi Jinping launched a full round of army, navy and rocket forces exercises encircling Taiwan. Some 19 warships and 50 aircraft loomed near the island in what Beijing called a "stern warning" and "powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence". And in March, chilling pictures showed Beijing's giant D-Day-style invasion barges. The giant troop-carrying barges are capable of delivering fleets of tanks and thousands of troops directly onto Taiwanese roads. The DIA report did not predict an all-out invasion of Taiwan in 2025, but said China could scale-up attacks elsewhere. The agency said: 'China possesses a variety of military options to coerce Taiwan, including increasing the frequency and scope of China's military presence operations, air and maritime blockades, seizure of Taiwan's smaller outlying islands, joint firepower strikes, and a full-scale amphibious invasion of Taiwan." 8 8 It added: 'China appears willing to defer seizing Taiwan by force as long as it calculates unification ultimately can be negotiated, the costs of forcing unification continue to outweigh the benefits, and its stated redlines have not been crossed by Taiwan or its partners and allies.' The US intelligence report also warned that Beijing will continue terrorising Taiwan with its 'campaign of diplomatic, information, military and economic pressure' to achieve its long-term goal of 'reunification'. Taipei has not cowered in the face of China's bullying, flexing its military muscles in return. Last month it launched 14 days of war games to prepare for the "worst case scenario". The operations were part of Taiwan's annual Han Kuang series of military exercises that put the island's defence capabilities to the test.
Telegraph
29-05-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Beijing sends heavy bombers to disputed islands in South China Sea
China has sent two of its recently-upgraded H-6 bombers to a disputed island in the South China Sea, satellite images have revealed. The photographs, taken by Maxar Technologies, show the two aircraft on an airstrip on Woody Island in the Paracel archipelago on May 19. The long-range bombers date back to the 1950s and were modelled on Soviet-era planes, but have been modernised and can now carry weapons including hypersonic and nuclear missiles. They are considered China's most advanced bombers, and it is the first time they have been on the island in five years. The photographs also show two Y-20 transport aircraft and a KJ-500 early warning plane around Woody Island on the same day. The KJ-500 is believed to be vital to China's ability to carry out increasingly complex air and sea operations. Located almost equidistant from China and Vietnam – about 220 miles from China and 250 miles from Vietnam – the Paracel Islands have long been at the centre of disputes between the two countries, which both claim sovereignty over the archipelago. The islands are believed to sit on top of large natural gas and oil reserves, though there has been limited exploration of the area. In 2012, China built a city called Sansha on Woody Island, which Beijing uses to administer control over the rest of the Paracels as well as the Spratly islands further south. In the years since, Woody Island has grown into an urban hub, with a population of about 2,300 as well as an airport, schools, a courthouse, a cinema and hospitals. The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative in the US estimates that China has at least 20 outposts across the Paracels, three of which have harbours that can dock large numbers of vessels and five of which have helipads. The Paracel Islands also form a strategic triangle with the Spratly Islands and the Scarborough Shoal, which Beijing seized from the Philippines in a tense standoff in 2012. In April, during the Philippines' annual exercises with the US called Balikatan, four men planted a Chinese flag on Sandy Cay, a sandbank in the Spratly islands, leading to a heated exchange with Manila. A month earlier, two H-6 aircraft were seen flying over the Scarborough Shoal shortly before Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, visited the Philippines. Vincent Kyle Parada, a former defence analyst at the Philippines navy, previously told The Telegraph that it would make sense for Beijing to assert its sovereignty over these territories. 'Having a Chinese presence in each of those features will allow [Beijing] a disproportionate amount of control when it comes to asserting its influence over South China Sea, whether it's through economic disruption, freedom of navigation or safety at sea,' explained Mr Parada. The timing of the latest H-6 deployment to the Paracels is unlikely to be a coincidence. A British aircraft carrier is also expected to deploy to the South China Sea next month. The Shangri-la Dialogue, considered Asia's largest defence summit, begins on Friday, though China's defence minister is reportedly not attending.
Malay Mail
28-05-2025
- General
- Malay Mail
Satellite images show China's most advanced H-6 bombers on disputed Paracel Islands in South China Sea
Satellite images show two advanced bombers on Woody Island H-6 bombers fitted with anti-ship and land attack cruise missiles Presence signals advanced capability amid regional tensions HONG KONG, May 28 — Satellite imagery shows China landed two of its most advanced bombers in the disputed Paracel islands in the South China Sea this month — a gesture that some analysts described as Beijing's latest signalling of its growing military capabilities to rivals. The deployment marks the first time the long-range H-6 bombers have landed on Woody Island in the Paracels since 2020, and the movement of the now upgraded aircraft comes amid tensions with the Philippines, operations near Taiwan and ahead of the region's biggest defence forum this weekend. 'China's long-range bombers don't need to be on the Paracels so it does appear to be omni-directional signalling by Beijing — against the Philippines and against the US and other things that are going on,' said Collin Koh, a defence scholar at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. French President Emmanuel Macron is due to open the three-day Shangri-La Dialogue forum in Singapore with a speech on Friday while US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth will outline the Trump administration's approach to the region on Saturday. A British aircraft carrier is expected in the South China Sea on a rare deployment next month, diplomats say. Satellites captured two H-6 planes flying over the hotly disputed Scarborough Shoal, also in the South China Sea, just ahead of Hegseth's visit to the Philippines in late March, when he reaffirmed the United States' 'ironclad commitment' to its treaty ally. Regional diplomats and analysts say deployments of the jet-powered H-6 are closely scrutinised, given the way its Cold War-era airframe has been modernised to carry anti-ship and land attack cruise missiles, while some of the planes are capable of launching nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles. A potential threat to US bases in the region, H-6 bombers were deployed in wargames around Taiwan in October, and in July flew close to the US mainland for the first time. Neither China's defence ministry nor the Philippines' maritime and national security council immediately responded to Reuters' requests for comment. China's occupation of the Paracels is disputed by Vietnam, whose foreign ministry also did not immediately respond for comment. Chinese H-6 bombers are parked on the tarmac of an airfield on Woody Island, in the disputed Paracel archipelago, which is known in China as Xisha Islands, South China Sea, May 19, 2025. — Maxar Technologies handout pic via Reuters Soviet design Echoing the development of the US B-52, the basic H-6 dates back to 1950s Soviet designs but it remains China's most advanced long-range bomber having been re-fitted with improved engines and modern flight systems along with its state-of-the-art weaponry. Images provided to Reuters by Maxar Technologies show two H-6 bombers on a runway on Woody Island on May 19. Another Maxar image on the same date show two Y-20 transport aircraft and an KJ-500 early warning plane — an aircraft that is seen as vital to China being able to control and secure increasingly complex air and sea operations. Some analysts said the planes may have first arrived on May 17 and been present until May 23. Ben Lewis, founder of open source data platform PLATracker, said they thought it was unlikely that the H-6s would be deployed long-term on Woody Island or be permanently based there. 'The ability to cycle forces through the bases, especially higher level assets like the H-6, provides the PLA with a force protection mechanism,' he said, referring to China's People's Liberation Army. China's Southern Theatre Command, which covers the South China Sea, maintains two regiments of the bombers, according to the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies. The bombers are generally kept at heavily fortified bases on the Chinese mainland, where they would have more protection in a conflict from US attacks in conflict scenarios. The US maintains jet fighter wings in Japan, including on its forward deployed aircraft carrier, and on Guam, which is also home to B-52s. China claims sovereignty over nearly all the South China Sea, including areas claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. A 2016 ruling by an international arbitral tribunal found Beijing's sweeping claims had no basis under international law, a decision China rejects. — Reuters
Reuters
28-05-2025
- General
- Reuters
Exclusive: China's most advanced bombers seen on disputed South China Sea island
HONG KONG, May 28 (Reuters) - Satellite imagery shows China landed two of its most advanced bombers in the disputed Paracel islands in the South China Sea this month - a gesture that some analysts described as Beijing's latest signalling of its growing military capabilities to rivals. The deployment marks the first time the long-range H-6 bombers have landed on Woody Island in the Paracels since 2020, and the movement of the now upgraded aircraft comes amid tensions with the Philippines, operations near Taiwan and ahead of the region's biggest defence forum this weekend. "China's long-range bombers don't need to be on the Paracels so it does appear to be omni-directional signalling by Beijing - against the Philippines and against the U.S. and other things that are going on," said Collin Koh, a defence scholar at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. French President Emmanuel Macron is due to open the three-day Shangri-La Dialogue forum in Singapore with a speech on Friday while U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth will outline the Trump administration's approach to the region on Saturday. A British aircraft carrier is expected in the South China Sea on a rare deployment next month, diplomats say. Satellites captured two H-6 planes flying over the hotly disputed Scarborough Shoal, also in the South China Sea, just ahead of Hegseth's visit to the Philippines in late March, when he reaffirmed the United States' "ironclad commitment" to its treaty ally. Regional diplomats and analysts say deployments of the jet-powered H-6 are closely scrutinised, given the way its Cold War-era airframe has been modernised to carry anti-ship and land attack cruise missiles, while some of the planes are capable of launching nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles. A potential threat to U.S. bases in the region, H-6 bombers were deployed in wargames around Taiwan in October, and in July flew close to the U.S. mainland for the first time. Neither China's defence ministry nor the Philippines' maritime and national security council immediately responded to Reuters' requests for comment. China's occupation of the Paracels is disputed by Vietnam, whose foreign ministry also did not immediately respond for comment. Echoing the development of the U.S. B-52, the basic H-6 dates back to 1950s Soviet designs but it remains China's most advanced long-range bomber having been re-fitted with improved engines and modern flight systems along with its state-of-the-art weaponry. Images provided to Reuters by Maxar Technologies show two H-6 bombers on a runway on Woody Island on May 19. Another Maxar image on the same date show two Y-20 transport aircraft and an KJ-500 early warning plane - an aircraft that is seen as vital to China being able to control and secure increasingly complex air and sea operations. Some analysts said the planes may have first arrived on May 17 and been present until May 23. Ben Lewis, founder of open source data platform PLATracker, said they thought it was unlikely that the H-6s would be deployed long-term on Woody Island or be permanently based there. "The ability to cycle forces through the bases, especially higher level assets like the H-6, provides the PLA with a force protection mechanism," he said, referring to China's People's Liberation Army. China's Southern Theatre Command, which covers the South China Sea, maintains two regiments of the bombers, according to the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies. The bombers are generally kept at heavily fortified bases on the Chinese mainland, where they would have more protection in a conflict from U.S. attacks in conflict scenarios. The U.S. maintains jet fighter wings in Japan, including on its forward deployed aircraft carrier, and on Guam, which is also home to B-52s. China claims sovereignty over nearly all the South China Sea, including areas claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. A 2016 ruling by an international arbitral tribunal found Beijing's sweeping claims had no basis under international law, a decision China rejects.
