China
has deployed an advanced surface-to-air missile system to one of the disputed
islands it controls in the South China Sea, Taiwan and US officials said, intensifying
up tensions even as US President Barack Obama urged curb in the region.
Taiwan
defense ministry spokesman Major General David Lo told the missile batteries
had been set up on Woody Island. The island is part of the Paracels chain,
under Chinese control for more than 40 year but also claimed by Taiwan and
Vietnam.
The move would follow China's building of new
islands in the disputed sea by piling sand atop reefs and then adding airstrips
and military installations. They are seen as part of Beijing's efforts to claim
virtually the entire South China Sea and its resources, which has prompted some
of its wary neighbours to draw closer to the U.S.
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