China's signals intercept, electronic warfare capabilities and surveillance network in the South China Sea region are set to get a major uplift with the setting up of a radar system in Triton Island.
Triton Island is a contested landmass located in the Paracel Islands of the South China Sea. According to a report by British think tank Chatham House, China is turning the island into an intelligence hub to boost its surveillance capabilities in the region.
Known as SIAR (synthetic impulse and aperture radar), the radar system is capable of detecting stealth aircraft. When completed, this radar will be part of a wider network of counter-stealth radars built by China across the South China Sea.
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Satellite images have shown a tower near the SIAR radar, which could be the operations centre.
China has not officially spoken about the purpose of the building work on the island.
According to J. Michael Dahm, Senior Resident Fellow for Aerospace and China Studies at the Mitchell Institute, this new radar will help China fill the gap in its air surveillance coverage between Subi Reef, a low-tide elevation located in the Spratly Islands, and Hainan Island.
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There are also other building projects on the island, satellite imagery shows. This includes a large pad that could probably be used for a mobile anti-ship missile battery and a storage facility for missile transport vehicles.
The radar facility will make it easy for China to counter the attempts by the US, the UK, and Australia to patrol the region.
The developments might be a warning that China is planning to mount another drilling expedition, according to Chatham House's Bill Hayton.