China responds to US ‘provocations’ in South China Sea by a direct challenge, increasing building on artificial islands

Groundbreaking ceremony for one of the two lighthouses

The following is based on translations from reports in Chinese media:

In the face of the Pentagon’s anticipated next move to send warships and warplanes to patrol the areas of the South China Sea that China claims as its territorial waters, China has not stopped its construction of artificial islands there but instead held the groundbreaking ceremonies of two lighthouses on artificial islands.

A few days ago, the US flew a spy plane over artificial islands built by China in waters claimed by China. China claimed to have forced the planes to leave with a series of radio messages, calling the flight a “provocation.”

According to CCTV, the two lighthouses are 50 metres high and each is installed with a lantern 4.5 meters in diameter. Their designed range is 22 nautical miles.

In early August, 2014, China’s state-run China News Service