Forbes

If you want to know why China wants control of the South China Sea – and why the U.S. and other nations may go to war to stop them – then take a look at this map.

A U.S. think tank has put together an interactive map of how Chinese air, missile and radar bases in the disputed South China Sea enable Beijing to project military power as far away as Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia. The map, compiled by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, depicts the ranges of Chinese weapons and radar deployed on various small islands and reefs in the South China Sea.

For example, clicking on the map’s Bomber Aircraft tab shows that Chinese H-6 bombers based on Woody Island – about 400 miles from Hong Kong — could strike targets far to the east of the Philippines, and as far south as Singapore, the vital shipping routes through the Strait of Malacca, and Indonesia’s capital Jakarta. China’s J-11 fighters could reach as far as Singapore, Balikpapan and the Java Sea, as well as to the east of the Philippines. Southern Vietnam and Malaysia would be well within range of Chinese airpower.

Chinese anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles deployed on the Spratly Islands — a cluster of tiny reefs in the middle of the South China Sea – could also cover a vast swathe of territory, according to the CSIS map. From Mischief Reef — about 900 miles southeast of Hong Kong and about 500 to 600 miles from Manila and Ho Chi Minh City –YJ-62 and YJ-12B anti-ship cruise missiles can strike as far as the Vietnamese coast, Brunei and the Philippine island of Palawan. HQ-9 surface-to-air missiles will cover the airspace around the Chinese-held islands and reefs.

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