February 29, 2016

"China is on a mission to expand maritime rescue facilities in the disputed South China Sea as it also pushes ahead with efforts to bolster its defences in the area, observers said.

After pursuing a major reclamation programme in the waters, it would focus on construction of facilities on the islands, they said, adding that vessels of different sizes and functions are ready for deployment to the waters.

Tensions on the South China Sea – which is largely claimed by Beijing but contested by Taiwan and its neighbours – are mounting over Beijing's military deployments in the area, with reports suggesting it has stationed missiles and radars on both the Paracel and Spratly island chains.

Admiral Harry Harris, head of the US Navy's Pacific Command, said on Wednesday that the US would increase freedom-of-navigation operations in the sea because of China's military build-up. China's defence ministry countered by saying Beijing could deploy whatever equipment it wanted on its territory because of US 'militarisation' there.

Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, said China would continue installing military facilities in the South China Sea because the US had sent vessels and aircraft to 12 nautical miles of waters from islands controlled by China.

But he added that some of these facilities, such as lighthouses in Cuarteron Reef and Johnson Reef, and radars, would also be used for maritime rescue operations and weather services.

'Rescue facilities in the South China Sea are seriously inadequate, as reflected by the search for flight MH370 two years ago,' Wu said, referring to the Malaysia Airlines flight that went missing after departing Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on March 8, 2014.

'Rescue operations over the South China Sea are mainly handled by China under the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue. China will build more facilities to ensure navigation safety.'

Some of the reefs would be used to expand maritime research with neighbouring countries, Wu said, adding that China will allow other countries to use facilities on the islands, such as hospitals.

'Hopefully, through such steps, China can show the international community that one of its main aims is to provide public goods,' he said.

Fishing and tourism would be central to development of the island chains, enabling bigger fishing vessels to use the area. And commercial exploration for deep-sea gas would be stepped up, Wu said.

An engineering researcher from Shanghai Jiao Tong University said China would also design and build bigger vessels and dredgers to develop the area.

Beijing sent the Tianjing, the world's third-biggest self-propelled cutter-suction dredger, to the waters for reclamation projects in 2010, and more ships would be needed to make more of the South China Sea accessible, he said.

The researcher, who was involved in the design of Tianjing, said there were many problems in the early stages of the South China Sea land reclamation projects, and the experience made the government aware of the need for super-sized dredgers.

Many islands in the region sat on the top of very sheer sea mountains, complicating efforts to expand the land area. And huge waves often made engineering operations impossible, the researcher said.

But China had amassed a wealth of data through these activities, which would help with the design and construction of new vessels, the researcher added.

'So the most important role of a large dredger is not the labour-intensive work of land reclamation, but as a spearhead to tear an opening for other vessels to previously inaccessible areas,' he said."

Read more:

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1918440/china-expand-maritime-rescue-mission-amid-build-south