Beijing, February 17

China has deployed surface-to-air missiles on a disputed island in the South China Sea, Taiwan said today, as Beijing insisted it had a right to build “self-defence” systems in the strategic region.

Taiwan’s defence ministry confirmed the facility’s existence after Fox News reported missile launchers had arrived on Woody Island, part of the Paracels chain, in the past week.

The report came as President Barack Obama called for “tangible steps” to reduce tensions in the region.

Beijing has controlled all of the Paracels, which are also claimed by Hanoi and Taipei, since seizing several from South Vietnam in a brief, bloody battle towards the end of the Vietnam War.

But tensions in the sea — through which one-third of the world’s oil passes — have mounted in recent months since China transformed contested reefs in the Spratly islands further south into artificial islands capable of supporting military facilities.

Washington says the move threatens free passage in a strategically vital area and has sent warships to sail close to the disputed islands to assert that right.

Analysts said the latest deployment could be an attempt to deter such freedom of navigation operations. Australian military aircraft also routinely overfly the area.

Fox News said yesterday that images showed two batteries of eight missile launchers and a radar system had arrived on Woody Island, the Paracels’ main island.

“The defence ministry has learned of an air defence missile system deployed by the Chinese communists on Yongxing Island,” a Taiwan defence ministry spokesman told AFP.

After meeting his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi described the reports as “an attempt by certain western media to create news stories”. He did not explicitly deny the deployment, but urged more attention on it.