China has deployed surface-to-air missiles on an island in the Paracel chain in the South China Sea, the Taiwanese government says. A statement released by the Taiwanese Defense Ministry says that it has first-hand intelligence that confirms the existence of missile batteries in the region, which is hotly disputed by China and its neighbors. Beijing fired back at the claims, with a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman telling reporters at a regularly-scheduled briefing that China's developments in the South China Sea were peaceful. U.S. President Barack Obama earlier called for the halt of the militarization of the South China Sea. Get complete coverage of breaking news on CNN TV, CNN.com and CNN Mobile. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Watch CNN live or On Demand from your computer or mobile device. Watch live CNN news coverage now at http://cnn.it/go， 《新