• For full details of graphics available/in preparation, see Menu -> Planners
 Subi Reef, Spratly Islands infographic
Picture shows Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands.
GN44118EN
EN

MILITARY

Subi Reef, Spratly Islands

By Duncan Mil

March 31, 2023 - Picture shows Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands. The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), part of Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, said satellite images show aircraft hangars, missile shelters and radar and communications facilities built on the Fiery Cross, Mischief and Subi Reefs in the South China Sea. Please use: Satellite Image (c) Maxar Technologies.

The Philippines and the U.S. will begin their annual Balikatan joint military exercises on April 11, with 17,680 troops – including 12,000 from the U.S. – the largest-ever contingent.

The Balikatan “shoulder-to-shoulder” drills include 111 Australian defence forces and Japanese observers.

The exercises will include the simulated defence of an island 300 kilometres south of Taiwan and an amphibious landing on Palawan -- the closest Philippine landmass to the disputed Spratly Islands -- a flashpoint for Beijing and Manila.

In 2016, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), part of Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, announced that satellite images show Beijing has built aircraft hangars, missile shelters and radar and communications facilities on the Fiery Cross, Mischief and Subi Reefs in the Spratly Islands.

The climax of the drills will be live-fire exercises conducted by Philippine and U.S. frigates. The U.S. will use a HIMARS precision rocket system to sink a mock enemy ship 185km from Panatag, also known as Scarborough Shoal, which China seized in 2012.

Patriot missile air defence systems will also conduct live-fire exercises. The system can track and destroy incoming missiles and aircraft with a minimum flight time of fewer than nine seconds and can travel up to 70km to the target.

Balikatan follows President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s announcement that four new U.S. military bases will be located in the Philippines, bringing the total to nine.

“There are four extra sites scattered around the Philippines -- some in the north, some around Palawan, there are some further south,” Marcos said on March 22 during an event to mark the founding of the Philippine army.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 31/03/2023; STORY: Graphic News
Advertisement