China aims to base scores of fighter jets on artificial islands it has built in disputed areas of the South China Sea, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, as Beijing expands its military reach amid uncertainty about Washington’s policy in Asia.
Beijing has finished construction, including the installation of fixed naval guns, atop its four smallest outposts in the Spratly island chain, where Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia have overlapping claims, the Pentagon said in its annual report on China’s military power.
The report comes days after James Mattis, US defence secretary, insisted at a forum in Singapore that Washington would continue to expand its engagement in the Asia-Pacific region, after regional allies expressed uncertainty about President Donald Trump’s commitment to challenging Beijing’s expansive claims over the South China Sea.