SPECIAL REPORT: U.S. SURVEILLANCE FROM SATELLITE & P8-A POSEIDON

SPECIAL REPORT: U.S. SURVEILLANCE FROM SATELLITE & P8-A POSEIDON

FOX NEWS

U.S. surveillance images reportedly show that China has positioned weaponry on at least one of the artificial islands it is developing in the South China Sea, apparently confirming suspicions that Beijing has been building up the area for military use.

U.S. Officials, reported that images taken showed two Chinese motorized artillery pieces on one of the artificial reefs. Although the weaponry would not pose a threat to U.S. planes or ships, it could potentially reach neighboring islands, the officials told the Wall Street Journal.

The American officials said that the artillery is within striking range of an island claimed by Vietnam, which that country's government has armed with various weaponry for some time.

A Chinese Embassy spokesman maintained the development of the artificial lands was primarily civilian.

“It needs to be emphasized that the Nansha Islands is China’s territory, and China has every right to deploy on relevant islands and reefs necessary facilities for military defense,” Zhu Haiquan, spokesman for the Chinese embassy, told the Journal.

On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Ash Carter strongly defended American military flights over the artificial lands in the South China Sea and called for a “lasting halt” to China’s land reclamation projects, noting that the U.S. is only seeking stability in the region.

Zhu has claimed Beijing’s activities are only meant to “improve the working and living conditions for personnel stationed there and better fulfilling China’s relevant international responsibilities and obligations.

U.S. officials are concerned that China's land reclamation projects may be a prelude to enforcing a possible air defense identification zone over the South China Sea, similar to one it declared over disputed Japanese-held islands in the East China Sea in 2013.

“We watch every outpost in the South China Sea carefully and monitor the actions of the countries concerned. I can assure you that Secretary Kerry is in touch with the claimants, including China, and has been very clear in warning against actions that escalate tensions. We oppose upgrades or militarization of outposts in disputed areas of the South China Sea.”

A U.S. official told The Associated Press that there are concerns China is working to build a perimeter around the South China Sea so it could claim the entire region as its own economic zone, with rights to all natural resources there.