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    Chinese artificial islands – unsinkable aircraft carriers or Potemkin villages?

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    In recent weeks, the media has returned to the issue of artificial islands being built by China in the South China Sea. It is clear that the expansion of Chinese infrastructure in the disputed regions is in full swing. A separate but key issue remains the real value of these islands, not even in a military confrontation, but in everyday use.

    The topic was publicized by Ezra Acayan, a Filipino photographer, two-time World Press Photo laureate. At the end of October, he flew over seven artificial islands in the Spratly archipelago. Unfortunately, Acayan did not provide details of this trip. He took the photos for Getty Images, but it is not known whether the Philippine authorities were involved in the operation. The return of the South China Sea issue to the foreign media is undoubtedly beneficial to Manila.

    The second fundamental point is: why did China allow such an escapade? Normally, Filipino journalists trying to get close to the artificial islands are chased away. There are two solutions at stake – in Beijing it was decided that publishing the photos would be useful, or once again in history a small aircraft managed to outsmart air defense. However, considering all the islands were photographed, the Chinese communications and command system would have to be paralyzed.

    Due to the lack of information, there is no point in delving into the topic. Let’s take care of the photos. They show the progressive expansion of military and civilian infrastructure. Recall that Beijing intended to transform the islands into tourist resorts. The latter clearly failed. There is very little traffic on the islands. This applies to the army, tourists, fishermen and sea rescue services. Some buildings are neglected and in poor condition.

    The Acayan military equipment is not captured much, but there are a few curiosities. On the Cuarteron Reef, you can observe artillery in the form of most likely 76mm H / PJ-26 universal guns and 30mm H / PJ-13B direct defense kits. The SLC-7 triple-coordinate early warning radar or similar has also been identified on the same island. According to the assurances of the Chinese media, the SLC-7 is capable of detecting and tracking stealth aircraft, as well as observing a very large number of objects, which is to ensure the ability to repel a saturation attack.

    On the other hand, at the wharf on Mischief Reef, you can see two type 022 missile boats in a catamaran arrangement. According to the Philippine media, ships of this type chased Filipino journalists trying to monitor Chinese activities in the region last year. Other heavy equipment has not been observed, although China has deployed long-range anti-ship and anti-aircraft systems on the islands in previous years.

    From the aviation equipment, the KJ-500H early warning aircraft was spotted on the Fiery Cross Reef during refueling, and on the Mischief Reef – the Y-8 transport aircraft. On the other hand, at the Subi Reef airport, several objects were set across the runway, identified by some observers as trucks. Why, however, they were placed in this way, it is not known. One of the suggested explanations is to prevent forced landing of foreign planes. Air-conditioned hangars can be seen from the airport infrastructure, but they are definitely not shelter-hangars capable of ensuring airplanes and helicopters withstand a hostile attack.

    The assumption was that the artificial islands were to provide China with the possibility of projecting power over virtually the entire South China Sea and controlling the disputed areas. Initially, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army was very active there. Even the H-6 family bombers used the airfields on the islands. Over time, however, the frequency and quantity of the equipment deployed began to decline. At the airports, no fighters were observed, neither native J-10s, nor the J-11 family, i.e. Chinese Su-27s and their derivatives. Such machines are very useful for demonstrating strength and putting pressure on other participants in the dispute.

    We wrote a few years ago that on artificial islands, the ChALW is losing the fight against nature. It turned out that the conditions prevailing there with high air humidity and salinity as well as high temperatures and high sunlight are deadly for the equipment. The guns on the islands had been corroded so quickly that they had to be decommissioned after just three months of service. Similar problems concern, among others, radars, missile systems and pipelines. In short, these are not the conditions for the permanent deployment of fighters costing millions of yuan. One of the investigated options to remedy this problem are graphene cladding.

    This is not the end of the problems. The artificial islands were erected at a very rapid pace, without any analysis of the natural conditions and their effects on the structure prior to the project. The same applies to buildings on the islands. Concrete structures began to crumble after three years, metal components fell victim to corrosion within a year. This raises doubts as to whether the islands will be able to withstand natural disasters such as typhoons and tsunamis, let alone an American attack.

    Chinese scientists have been publishing alarmist reports and articles on the construction and state of the islands since 2016. Their texts show a picture of an ill-considered and costly investment that creates more problems than benefits. They are engineers, while military experts are also skeptical. In their opinion, in the event of a war with the US, the islands and their garrisons have no chance of survival. It is not only about the ability to repel a direct attack, but also about supplying small garrisons after all.

    This confirms the opinion that artificial islands are primarily an element of psychological warfare, they are supposed to make the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia feel powerless. On the other hand, the deployment of early warning, reconnaissance and ZOP aircraft provides a good opportunity for observation and surveillance of the South China Sea, as well as gathering intelligence.

    We come back to the issue of airports and what is visiting them. Airports built on artificial islands are large facilities, the runways are approximately 3 kilometers long, which in theory allows the reception of all types of aircraft used by Chinese aviation. According to early estimates, more planes could be collected at bases on artificial islands than the Vietnamese, Malaysian and Philippine air forces have combined.

    However, if the structure of the islands is weak or unstable, this limits the possibilities considerably. Especially modern fighters, landing at high speed, need a sufficiently hard and even surface. Uneven or too soft ground asks for belt and plane damage.

    The solution would be shortened take-off and landing combat aircraft, but China does not have one. So what do KJ-500, H-6 or Y-8 do on artificial islands? Such machines are a completely different story. Most of the Chinese specialty aircraft are transport based, and these have a low landing speed and are designed to use simple or even primitive airfields.

    The same applies to the H-6, the Chinese development version of the old Tu-16. This plane is the same as the B-52 and had to meet similar requirements. In the 1950s, when the massive use of nuclear weapons was assumed, retaliatory bombers had to be able to take off from damaged airfields. Then came the days of ballistic missiles and more balanced nuclear doctrines, which changed the requirements for bombers. The B-1, B-2 and Tu-160 already have much higher requirements for runways.

    South China Sea

    The Paracel and Spratly Islands are scattered archipelagos of islands, islets, reefs, rocks and shoals scattered across the South China Sea, claimed by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. This seemingly absurd dispute, in which all participants invoke the age-old rights to the archipelagos, has specific economic and political justifications. It is about exploiting rich fisheries, oil and gas fields, as well as controlling sea trade routes connecting East Asia with the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

    See also: Raider X shown with weapons

    Alert5, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International

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