The Philippines is set to offer the US military use of eight bases, a military spokesman said Wednesday, after the country’s supreme court upheld a security agreement with Washington forged in the face of rising tensions with China. The facilities include the former US Clark airbase and air and naval facilities on the southwestern island of Palawan which faces the South China Sea, the focus of territorial disputes with China. Military spokesman Colonel Restituto Padilla said the facilities would be used to store equipment and supplies. He added that the offer had still to be finalised after the Philippine Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a 10-year security accord. Philippines to offer eight bases to US forces | The Manila Times Online
Is that base on the Spratleys (that China built) one of the 8 bases the Philippines is offering to the US?
China deploys HQ-9 surface-to-air missiles in West Philippine Sea Posted on February 17, 2016 Diagram including a satellite image of the beach from Feb. 14. (ImageSat International) China has deployed advanced surface-to-air missile system in the West Philippine Sea, according to the Taiwan Defense Ministry. China made the move, according to CNN, just hours after President Obama called for new construction or militarization of Asia’s oceans to cease. The Pentagon was watching the developments closely, a defense official told Fox News. The imagery from ImageSat International (ISI) shows two batteries of eight surface-to-air missile launchers as well as a radar system on Woody Island. It is the same island chain where a U.S. Navy destroyer sailed close to another contested island a few weeks ago. China at the time vowed “consequences” for the action. The missiles arrived over the past week. According to the images, a beach on the island was empty on Feb. 3, but the missiles were visible by Feb. 14. A U.S. official confirmed the accuracy of the photos. The official said the imagery viewed appears to show the HQ-9 air defense system, which closely resembles Russia’s S-300 missile system. The HQ-9 has a range of 125 miles, which would pose a threat to any airplanes, civilians or military, flying close by.
N. Korea already does the "BANG but with no loss of lives" thing and that hasn't stopped them. They even do it in China's back yard.
