There is some good reporting done on the military development of the Spratly Islands, but rarely by the Wall Street Journal. Today, it was. The Journal used Digital Globe to get imagery of some ground based jammers that can disrupt communications in the area. They took some good pictures.
As the article points out, the Chinese routinely use the islands as a means of communicating what could be, rather than what is. They flew military fighters into that area, then withdrew them. They flew military transports into the area, then flew them out again. They prepared long-range radar, launcher areas suitable for anti-ship and anti-air missiles, and stationed military troops there for brief periods -though the Chinese deny most all of these things. They are just trying to find out what we do to counter these kinds of weapons, so they watch closely when a US ship gets in the area. If we complain, they get what they have in the way of intelligence, then move the stuff. They are building a capability to put fighters, jammers, radars and missiles right in the heart of an area they claim, but the U.N. Permanent Court of Arbitration says they do not own.
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