South China Sea tensions rise as China lands plane on artificial island

Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it considered the action a serious infringement of the sovereignty of Vietnam on the Spratly Islands and asked China to not to repeat the flight.

BEIJING-China said it landed a test flight on a newly completed airfield in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, a sign of its growing military capabilities in the region.

Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying says China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters.

“That’s the fear, that China will be able take control of the South China Sea and it will affect the freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight”, said Philippines Foreign Ministry spokesman Charles Jose.

“We will file [a protest] in due course”.

Washington argues that islands China has built up in the South China Sea are not entitled to a territorial limit under worldwide law as they used to be underwater at high tide.

The US, concerned about the region’s balance of power shifting towards China, has taken steps to demonstrate their “freedom of navigation” in the South China Sea. China rejected Hanoi’s protest and will likely dismiss Manila’s concerns as well. However, there are overlapping claims from the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Analysts say China’s increasing military presence in the disputed sea could ultimately lead to a Beijing-controlled air defence zone, ratcheting up tensions with other claimants and the United States.

Satellite images published by IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly in April showed China building the airstrip on reclaimed land on Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands.

“Japan is gravely concerned about China’s act, which is a unilateral change of the status quo” in the region and an attempt to make Beijing’s massive and fast-paced land reclamation work in the disputed seas “a fait accompli”, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told a press conference.

Japan “cannot accept [this act] which is escalating tensions and is a concern shared by the global community”, Kishida said. “While this was a civil test, this airport is clearly very militarily capable, and China could presumably start to use it in some capacity at any time”, said Mr. Erickson.