China has been quietly marshaling military forces with its new carrier-on-land equipment and island helicopter base within striking range of the disputed Senkaku islands, recent satellite images show.

Pictures from a commercial spy satellite revealed China is building an airbase with ten helicopter landing pads on Nanji Island. The base lies near the shores of Zhejiang province, about 300 kilometers northwest of the Japan-administered Senkakus, small islands which China calls the Diaoyus.

Like Us on Facebook

Military analysts were quick to point out the base appears to be a strategic move of China's People's Liberation Army, which is ready to seize control the Senkakus with armed force.

China's airbase preparations can be compared to China's Army reaching for the gun holster and when military assets begin arriving on Nanji Island, that means Beijing is ready to squeeze the trigger, said International Assessment and Strategy Center's Rick Fisher.

Japan has been locked in a tense standoff with China over the Senkakus since three years ago, when Tokyo bought three of the islands from private owners. Since the purchase, China has sent fighter jets, ships and unmanned surveillance drones to areas near the islands, prompting Japan to deploy aerial and maritime intercepts.

The Defense Ministry of China neither confirmed nor denied the military deployment to Nanji. Satellite images also showed radar and communication facilities, in addition to wind turbines visible on a ridge on the island's southeastern part.

Analysts said the buildup may be part of China's efforts to come up with an air defense identification zone over the East China Sea that includes the Senkakus. The United States has ruled out recognizing the Chinese air defense zone as it includes vast areas of international waters and airspace.

Meanwhile, recent satellite images also showed China has upgraded its carrier-on-land facility that included a simulated set-up of the Chinese Navy's new guided missile destroyer.

The January images revealed the completion of a guided missile destroyer that will likely be a key facility for a new radar system.

The Type-55 missile destroyer mock-up in Wuhan is seen as China's answer to a fixing its zero anti-air warfare capability in its present fleet of guided missiles. China could have begun building the first vessels in the class, reports said.

Tagsmilitary buildup, Senkaku Islands, airbase