has fully militarized at least three of nearly a dozen man-made islands it built in the hotly contested South China Sea, despite Chinese President ´s previous promises not to convert the islands into military bases, a top U.S. military commander said on Sunday. U.S. Navy officials surveyed outposts in the South China Sea´s Spratly archipelago – one of the world's most disputed regions – and found that the islands of Mischief Reef, Subi Reef and Fiery Cross has been armed with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment and fighter jets.U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Admiral John C. Aquilino shared the revelation with two Associated Press journalists who joined him on board a P-8A Poseidon plane during the reconnaissance mission, which revealed that missile arsenals, aircraft hangars, radar systems and other military facilities had been constructed on the three artificial islands.
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