YJ-12 missiles hang under the wings of Chinese H-6G bombers.

China in the past 30 days has deployed anti-ship cruise missiles and anti-aircraft missiles on illegally built artificial islands at Fiery Cross, Mischief and Subi reefs in Vietnam’s Spratly archipelago, CNBC News said today.

Although Chinese officials have not commented, anonymous sources said the weapons deployed by Beijing include the YJ-12B anti-ship missile complex and the HQ-9B long-range air defense system.

If the information is confirmed, this will be the first time China has deployed missiles to illegal artificial islands in the East Sea.

YJ-12B anti-ship cruise missile

YJ-12B is a supersonic anti-ship missile launched from aircraft similar to the Russian Kh-31 series, but has a similar shape to the US GQM-163 Coyote flying target.

Chinese military sources say the YJ-12B variant has a maximum range of 545 km and a speed of 4,940 km/h if launched from a high altitude, but this parameter will be significantly reduced if the missile must fly low.

After being launched from the aircraft, the YJ-12 missile will reduce its altitude to 15 m in the final phase of approaching the target.

The YJ-12 bullet model was introduced by China.

The YJ-12 is equipped with a 205 kg warhead, but its high cruise speed causes it to achieve damage equivalent to a 400-500 kg warhead on a subsonic cruise missile.

The YJ-12 was once considered a serious threat to US aircraft carrier battle groups.

HQ-9B anti-aircraft missile

HQ-9 is a medium-long range air defense complex developed by China, similar to the Russian S-300 system.

The HQ-9 projectile uses a two-stage design with a vector propulsion system (TVC) similar to the S-300V model.

A pair of Chinese long-range missiles are suspected of being sent to Truong Sa

HQ-9 missile firing practice

The latest variant of the HQ-9B has a range of about 295 km, using an inertial navigation system with mid-travel updates.

An HQ-9 complex includes 8 ammunition vehicles and launchers (TEL), each TEL can carry 4 missiles.

China has used force to occupy Vietnam’s Hoang Sa archipelago since 1974. Since 1988, it has illegally occupied some rocks in Vietnam’s Truong Sa archipelago.

Vietnam has full legal basis and historical evidence to assert its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos.