China May Be Building Radar System In South China Sea's Disputed Islands

Competing territorial claims in the hotly disputed South China Sea has seen a new escalation of tensions after confirmed reports of radar installations on the Spratly Islands.

According to Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, new satellite images revealed a "high-frequency radar installation" which could seriously bolster China's ability to monitor surface and air traffic across the southern portion of the South China Sea."

Furthermore, the maritime defense facilities erected at Cuarteron Reef is almost complete which now covers about an area of 210,500 square meters.

"Two probable radar towers have been built on the northern portion of the feature, and a number of 20-metre poles have been erected across a large section of the southern portion," said the report as quoted by ABC News.

The news erupted just after the release of previous satellite images confirming Beijing's installation of surface-to-air missiles on Paracel Islands just north of Spratlys.

The release of the published report comes with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's three-day visit to the U.S. in which hot button issues will be discussed such as tensions that run high in the South China sea and, of course, North Korea's growing nuclear weapons programs as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

The Chinese government, however, remains firm on its stance that China has legitimate sovereign claims over the artificial islands and that it has every right to develop the area for its own good.

"China's deployment of limited, necessary defense facilities on its own territory is its exercise of its right of self-defense to which a sovereign state is entitled under international law," explained Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry in a report by the New York Times.