Military radars stations have been built by China on seven reefs in the Spratly Islands including Cuarteron Reef, Fiery Cross Reef, Gaven Reef, Hughes Reef, Mischief Reef, Johnson Reef and Subi Reef; some of which were seized illegally from the Philippines, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, an interactive website that promotes transparency in the Indo-Pacific to discourage emphatic behavior and conflict.
AMTI was made and designed by Center for Strategic and International Studies or CSIS, a U.S think-tank based in wahisghton D.C.
AMTI is confident that Chinese radar stations establish a network that significantly expand the domain awareness and intelligence, surveillance and exploration capabilities of the People's Liberation Army over a large portion of the disputed territory. The stations will let China track military aircraft of the United States, the Philippines, Vietnam and other nations standing-up to China's powerful diplomacy.
However, China insists that those radar stations were built to support search and rescue. Experts said that's these stations are critical to the PLA's keeping control of the islands which China should have given to its legal owners after the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration last July 12 that favors the claim of the Philippines to own the South China Sea.
According to AMTI, China is building satellite uplink equipment to its Beidou-GPS system on many of the features. Satellite communications equipment permits reliable over-the-horizon targeting for China's anti-ship ballistic missiles. It also extends the zone covered by China's A2/AD network to maneuvering targets such as U.S. Navy aircraft carrier strike groups and other Navy warships.
