An areal view of alleged artificial islands built by China in disputed waters in the South China Sea, west of Palawan, Philippines.(Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, epa)
China has deployed missiles to a disputed island in the South China Sea, according<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to a statement from<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, even as President Obama called for reduced tensions in the region at the conclusion of a summit with Southeast Asian leaders.
Commercial satellite imagery picked up the deployment, Fox News reports. The network says it obtained imagery from<span style="color: Red;">*</span>ImageSat International (ISI) showing<span style="color: Red;">*</span>two batteries of eight surface-to-air missile launchers as well as a radar system on the island.
"The Taiwanese Defense Ministry has learned of China's deployment of surface-to-air missiles on the Woody Island in the Paracel Islands," the statement from Taiwan said, according to CNN. Taiwan's military "is closely monitoring further development of the situation," the statement said.
China, Taiwan and Vietnam all claim Woody Island as their own, according to Fox.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi<span style="color: Red;">*</span>accused<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the media<span style="color: Red;">*</span>of hyping the issue.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Following talks with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Beijing on Wednesday, he<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said he had just<span style="color: Red;">*</span>become aware of the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>reports.
“We believe this is an attempt by certain Western media to create news stories,” Wang said. Speaking of the building<span style="color: Red;">*</span>of infrastructure including<span style="color: Red;">*</span>light houses and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>weather stations, he said:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>“All of those are actions that China, as the biggest littoral state in the South China Sea, has undertaken to provide more public goods and services to the international community and play its positive role there."
The U.S. recently challenged China's territorial claims in the Parcel Islands, sending the Navy<span style="color: Red;">*</span>missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur within 12 miles of one of the islands claimed by China. China responded by calling the move a violation of Chinese law.
USA TODAY
Navy challenges China, others in South China Sea
The South China Sea has become hotly contested as China and other nations in the region seek to control trade routes and mineral deposits in the area. China has complicated the regional tensions further by building new "islands" in the sea by piling sand on reefs and then constructing military installations.
"We discussed the need for tangible steps in the South<span style="color: Red;">*</span>China Sea to lower tensions, including a halt to further reclamation, new construction and militarization of disputed areas," Obama said in his concluding statement Tuesday after the meeting with<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). "I reiterated that the United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows, and we will support the right of all countries to do the same."
USA TODAY
Obama, SE Asian leaders seek to ease maritime tensions
Contributing: The Associated Press<span style="color: Red;">*</span>
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