US senators alarmed over China's missiles in disputed sea

MANILA, Philippines - United States (US) senators have expressed concern over reports that China has deployed a surface-to-air missile system to one of the contested islands in the South China Sea.

Fox News reported earlier this week that two batteries of eight missile launchers known as the HQ-9 air defense system have been spotted on Woody Island, a part of the Paracel Island chain in the disputed sea.

READ: Report: China deploys missiles in contested South China Sea island | China denies sending missiles to disputed island

US Sen. Steve Daines said that the deployment of missiles in the island would have impacts on the stability of the region and on global commerce.

"With over 5 trillion dollars of global trade passing through the South China Sea, maintaining the integrity of international waters and airspace in the region is critically important," Daines said in a statement.

Meanwhile, US Sen. John McCain said that Beijing's recent action in the disputed sea shows its intent to militarize the region.

"Despite making claims months ago that China had halted its unprecedented reclamation and would not militarize features in the South China Sea, we now have a growing set of examples of the emptiness of Beijing's words," McCain said.

McCain added that Chinese President Xi Jinping was deliberately disregarding his commitment to the US to halt the reclamation activities in the South China Sea.

"While President Obama has rightly called for a halt to militarization, he has oddly left it to Beijing to interpret what constitutes militarization in the eyes of the United States," McCain said.

McCain, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, suggested that the US should consider additional options to raise the costs in Beijing's behavior such as adopting policies with "a level of risk that we have been unwilling to consider up to this point."

Obama, along with leaders of Southeast Asian countries recently issued a joint declaration expressing stronger commitment to keeping peace in the region.

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