TAIPEI \u2014 A new Chinese-built seaplane could help seal Beijing’s control over its claims in the South China Sea (SCS), say military specialists on China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Jiaolong (Water Dragon) AG600, now <\/span>under construction by China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (CAIGA), will be China’s the <\/span>largest operational seaplane. of its kind. <\/span>CAIGA did not respond to DN’s <\/span>inquiries after the company’s announcement on March 17 that it had completed the front fuselage assembly for the prototype.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to brochures obtained at the 2014 Airshow China in Zhuhai, the aircraft is powered by four turboprop WJ-6 engines and the Jiaolong (Water Dragon) <\/span>has a range of 5,500 kilometers, which would provide substantial movement within the SCS. roughly 5,000 kilometers short of China’s claims <\/span>In the Spratly Islands, China where it <\/span>is currently constructing artificial islands on Hughes Reef, Johnson South Reef and Gaven Reef. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the lack of direct mainland access to Beijing’s strategic claims in the SCS, the aircraft are seen as a boon to solidifying control of the area by China’s military and maritime enforcement agencies for island hopping within the crowded clusters of the 750 reefs, islets, atolls and islands in the Spratly Islands archipelago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Amphibious planes like the AG600 would be perfect for resupplying the new artificial islands that the Chinese are building in the SCS,” said Richard Bitzinger, coordinator of the Military Transformations Program at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “At the same time, these islands would be excellent bases of operations for the AG600 to engage in maritime patrols of claimed territories.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n The AG600 will also serve as political leverage, said Ching Chang, a research fellow at Taiwan’s ROC Society for Strategic Studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “States need effective governance to support their territorial claim” and the AG600 will enhance China’s capability in “law enforcement, fishery patrol, anti-poaching activity on coral reefs, pollution prevention, search and rescue, medical rescue transportation, meteorological and seismic survey, namely, all the government functions that may signify its substantial governance in the South China Sea.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n This type of governance and control will serve China’s argument that the islands are “inhabitable according to UNCLOS [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea] requirements, which support the PRC [People’s Republic of China] to claim an EEZ [exclusive economic zone] in the South China Sea.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n