The White House warned Beijing on Thursday that there will be consequences if China continues their militarization in the South China Sea, following reports of missiles being deployed to three of the country’s outposts in the disputed region, reports CNN. U.S. intelligence says there is a high probability the Chinese military had deployed anti-ship and anti-craft missiles to three artificial islands during recent military drills. It is unclear if the missiles remained at the outposts after the April exercises. The move would mark the first reported Chinese missile deployment in the Spratly Islands, a series of small, artificial islands that Beijing has slowly been militarizing.
The South China Sea is a highly contested region, with overlapping territorial claims from China, the Philippines and Vietnam, reports CNN.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s White House Press Secretary, told reports that the U.S. had “raised concerns” with the Chinese. “We’re well aware of China’s militarization of the South China Sea,” she said, according to CNN. “There will be near-term and long-term consequences, and we’ll certainly keep you up to date,” she added.
Thanks for reading InsideHook. Sign up for our daily newsletter and be in the know.
