February 23, 2017

"On Tuesday, Reuters quoted two anonymous US officials as saying that China had nearly finished building almost two dozen military structures on artificial islands in the South China Sea. According to the report, the structures on the Zhubi Reef, the Meiji Reef and the Yongshu Reef appear to be 20 meters long and 10 meters high with retractable roofs. US intelligence officials believe that those would be used to deploy long-range surface-to-air missiles.

At about the same time, Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, commander of US 7th Fleet, claimed that 'Unequivocally, we're prepared to fight if necessary.' Admiral Harry Harris, head of the US Pacific Command, noted on Wednesday that 'We will cooperate where we can but we will be ready to confront where we must.' For the moment, US aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson is on patrol in the South China Sea."

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