By October 2000 there had been 20 so far that year and angry Japanese politicians threatened to cut off economic aid. Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono warned Beijing in August last year that Chinese marine research and naval vessels appearing near Japanese territorial waters had sparked wide concern and threatened to damage relations. Only when Tokyo threatened to cut off its aid to China did Beijing promise to provide prior notification about Chinese maritime survey vessels sailing in Japanese territorial waters. But instead of the six months' notice as demanded by Japan, China agreed in February this year to give only two months' warning. Shambaugh points to the Chinese operation of a Sigint post on Great Coco Island in the Andaman Sea as an example of the effort China devotes to electronic eavesdropping.
Chinese diplomats deny that China runs the station.
Carolina Hernandez, professor of political science at the University of the Philippines, sneers at China invoking its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea to demand a halt to all U.S. spy flights. The reef is also claimed by Manila on the grounds that it is well inside the Philippine exclusive economic zone. The Chinese have built military structures, which Beijing calls fishermen's shelters, and have upgraded their communication facilities there in the past few months, according to Manila media reports. Cole says the Mischief Reef facility is clearly equipped with UHF and High Frequency antennae. In terms of intelligence gathering, I would assume the facilities are capable of intercepting communications transmissions in those bands.