The HQ-9 and militarization of Chinese Island Outposts.
China’s Strategic Dominance in the South China Sea: Drawing a line in the sand.
The People's Republic of China (P.R.C.) relies on an enormous amount of foreign energy to power her economy; 60% of her oil imports navigates the Malacca Strait. The Malacca Strait is the world’s busiest maritime trade route, with over 100,000 large container ships transiting it yearly, carrying 64% of global trade. To dominate and strengthen her position as a pre-eminent power, China must have control of this crucial life-line for her economy, and as you will read, she has come up with both illegal and innovative means to position herself in doing just that.The South China Sea and territorial disputes.
At the same time as China has enjoyed becoming a modern and prosperous nation tied to the global order of things, with both formal admittance to the United Nations in 1971 China and a security council member, she has become an increasingly disruptive global power. China seeks to become a leading power not only in Southeast Asia, and to do so she knows that control of the South China Sea (SCS) is key.
China’s disregard for UN rulings on territorial disputes in the South China Sea and increasingly growing number and size of her military establishments, with 'land-reclamation’ efforts seeing some 3,200 acres of new island reef land area being dredged from coral reefs and sand, she has expanded her ‘island outposts’ or 岛礁. Unrecognized by International Law, CSCS bases are interspersed by over sixty habitable islands where territorial disputes include Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Now, just this last week in April of 2025, we see China having laid claim to Sandy Cay
China's Paracel, Spratly and other Island Outposts: A detailed overview.
These SCS 'island outposts', known as ‘SCS outposts’ number some 20 in the Paracel Islands (South China Sea), 7 outposts in the Spratly Islands, and one further outpost on Scarborough Shoal. China’s ‘SCS outposts’ include the Fiery Cross, Subi, Mischief, Cuarteron, Gaven, Hughes and Johnson reefs.These militarized island outposts now contain some 80 radomes as seen by aircraft and satellite imagery. Housing a range of Information Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) equipment, weapon targeting equipment, inter-island communications links and include real-time data links to China's military leadership, providing all the necessary data to fight a war in the region.
Island Outpost Militarization
The Hongqi-9 or HQ-9 Surface-to-Air Missiles
The People’s Liberation Army or PLA has installed a complete combination of both the Hongqi-9 or HQ-9 and HQ-12A missile systems together to ensure a capability to destroy both medium and long-range fixed-wing aircraft, UAV's and cruise missiles.
Derived from the Russian S-300 and Russian SA-20, the HQ-9 also combines additional American and Israeli technology with the newer HQ-9B, stated by an Israeli source as being ‘equal to the U.S. THAAD’.
The HQ-9B is designed for high mobility, with its missiles, radars, and command units mounted on mobile trucks to enhance survivability in combat scenarios
The new HQ-9C employs 8 missiles versus 4, while combined with its 250-kilometre range and ability to cover nearly 200,000 square kilometres with a 360-degree radar, the positions the HQ-9B/C are a formidable tool in China’s air defense arsenal.
The HQ-12 was the first Chinese missile to use a phased array radar, and is largely obsolescent. This is why the HQ-19 has been seen on the islands; The HQ-19 comes with 'certified multiple target tests' against targets at altitudes of 200 km and speeds of 10,000 m/s.
China has been advancing its ground-based radar technology in recent years, with developments in the X, VHF and UHF bands along with advanced AESA technology.
The goal has been to create an extensive early warning and situational awareness capability with a radar network that supports multi-dimensional air surveillance out to 500km. The multi-radar systems include JY-27A VHF-band, YLC-8B UHF-band, and SLC-7 L-band anti-stealth AESA radars, along with over-the-horizon 3D phased-array radars.
This extensive radar network effectively enhances China’s ability to monitor military vessel and aircraft movements in the region.
Further, an Over-The-Horizon (OTH) maritime monitoring network provides China with real-time, all-weather, and persistent surveillance capabilities throughout the South China Sea, reportedly enabling the detection of stealth aircraft. Pakistan has been a cooperative partner in weapons development with China.
The HQ-9’s JY-27A radar has dual anti-stealth capabilities, giving a maximum detection range of typical stealth aircraft greater than 350 kilometers.
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| AntI-Stealth Radar |
Conclusion: China’s innovative strategic ‘line in the sand.’
The beginning of China’s rise to global hegemony begins here in the South China Sea and Spratly Island chain, and it is both unprecedented in its sheer scale and size.
With historic engineering feats, met with an equally unprecedented level of innovation, China has created the world’s greatest strategic barrier using sand; Genius.
© Kristopher Richey 2025
