PLA setting up new base on Zhejiang's Nanji islands

The People's Liberation Army plans to construct a new naval base on the Nanji islands off the coast of east China's Zhejiang province in readiness for potential conflict with Japan over disputed islands in the East China Sea, according to the Tokyo-based Kyodo News on Dec. 22.

Various sources from China told Kyodo that the PLA is constructing a new radar station and airfield on Nanji, which is 300 kilometers from the Diaoyu islands (Senkaku to Japan, Diaoyutai to Taiwan) currently under Japanese administration.

China can use Nanji as a base for warships and maritime patrol vessels if a conflict should break out with Japan over the islands, the sources said.

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