US Says it Can Take Down Chinese Fake Islands in South China Sea

USS Lassen patrols the eastern Pacific Ocean.US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Huey D. Younger Jr.

• The US warned Beijing on Thursday that it could take out its islands in the South China Sea as military tensions in the important waterway heat up.
• China has flatly denied any militarization of its artificial South China Sea islands, even as it deploys missiles and lands nuclear-capable bombers there.
• Increasingly, China is bullying its neighbors and taking small acts of military force against US allies.
• The US has already said it won’t stand for the Chinese Communist Party’s doublespeak and has a legal case for using military force to protect freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

The US issued a stark warning to Beijing on Thursday, as Chinese militarization of the South China Sea creates a potential flashpoint in a longstanding battle for control of the Pacific.

For years, Beijing has dredged the South China Sea to build artificial islands in waters it claims as its territory.

Six of China’s neighbors also lay claim to conflicting patches of the South China Sea. The body of water is home to natural resources, and trillions of dollars’ worth of trade passes through every year.

In 2016, an international court ruled that China’s claims to the precious waterway were illegal, but Beijing made a show of ignoring that ruling.

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It upped the ante this year by breaking a promise not to militarize the islands with missile deployments and with landing nuclear-capable bombers on the islands.

On Thursday, the US reminded China of a “historical fact.” Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the director of the Joint Staff, said “the United States military has had a lot of experience in the Western Pacific, taking down small islands.”