China nearly finished building South China Sea structures to house missiles, officials say

[TomSea]

China nearly finished building South China Sea structures to house missiles, officials say
By Lucas Tomlinson Published February 22, 2017 FoxNews.com

In a move likely to stoke tensions in the region, China has built new structures to potentially house surface-to-air missiles on three of its artificial islands in the South China Sea, but so far no missiles have been sent there, two U.S. officials confirmed to Fox News.

The news comes as the U.S. Navy deployed an aircraft carrier to the South China Sea during the weekend -- the first time since President Trump took office.

China has built runways on Subi, Mischief and Fiery Cross islands, built atop former reefs in the Spratly chain of islands. China has constructed 24 new buildings across these three islands in the past few months, according to the officials.

Recent U.S. satellite imagery showed that each structure is 11-by-22 yards in length, according to one official. The buildings have retractable roofs.

Continued: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/02/22/china-nearly-finished-building-south-china-sea-structures-to-house-missiles-officials-say.html