Coming soon to an island near here; more Chinese military installations—as seen in this view of Woody Island that was provided to AIN by Deimos Imaging, a provider of very high-resolution commercial satellite imagery. Woody Island is one of the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, where Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam are all disputing China’s territorial claims. Those claims also extend to the Spratly Islands, where China has built military-length airstrips and surface-to-air missile housings. In total, Beijing is claiming seas that carry a third of the world’s maritime traffic.

The U.S. has challenged this Chinese expansion, with "right of navigation" patrols around the South China Sea by warships and Boeing P-8 maritime patrol aircraft. Those assets sometimes operate from Singapore. But, ironically, the island republic tries to maintain excellent relations with the People’s Republic. Last week, Singapore’s junior defense minister gave a long speech on regional security to the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), without once mentioning the nearby maritime disputes.