China speaks of ‘natural right’ to deploy ‘necessary military equipment’ to Spratly Islands

China’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) said that sending troops and setting up military equipment on the islands claimed by Beijing in the Spratly archipelago in the South China Sea (SCS) is part of its “natural right as a sovereign nation”.

“The Nansha [also known as Spratly] Islands are Chinese territory, and China’s establishment of a ‘necessary military garrison and equipment’ on its islands is within its natural right as a sovereign nation,” MND spokesperson Ren Guoqiang said in a statement following a 9 April report by the Wall Street Journal newspaper about the military build-up in the area.

The report quotes two unnamed US officials as saying that China has installed equipment on two of its fortified outposts in the Spratlys capable of jamming communications and radar systems.

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