Vietnam accuses China for ‘infringement of sovereignty’ over Spratly archipelago

In December, Singapore allowed US P-8 Poseidon spy aircraft to use its territory for reconnaissance flights over the South China Sea.

In Hanoi, the foreign ministry said it has handed a protest note to China’s embassy and asked Beijing not to repeat the action.

It will be an important strategic asset for India in the SCS region, which has been at the centre of tensions between China and particularly Vietnam and the Philippines over the past few years.

Philippine foreign affairs spokesperson Charles Jose told Rappler that Manila will contest Beijing’s landing of a civilian plane on Fiery Cross Reef on Saturday, January 2. In May 2014, a major crisis involving a Chinese oil rig near the Paracel Islands triggered a steep decline in bilateral ties and led to widespread anti-China protests in Vietnam.

This reaction follows China’s unprecedented move on Saturday, when it used a civil aircraft called “Yongshu Jiao”, to test whether the new airstrip at Fiery Cross Reef meets civil aviation standards.

A test flight by a civilian plane landed on an island in the South China Sea, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. As well as Vietnam and China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan also have claims. The Japanese foreign minister, Fumio Kishida, weighed in, saying that such acts “don’t contribute to the peaceful settlement of the dispute” and should be avoided. He said claimants should instead focus on reaching agreement on acceptable behavior in disputed areas.

The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean. The US is engaged in a reckless campaign to ensure its dominance in Asia by all means, including war if need be. “That’s the fear, that China will be able to take control of the South China Sea, and it will affect the freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight [and the] unimpeded flow of commerce”.

China’s first aircraft carrier, which was renovated from an old aircraft carrier that China bought from Ukraine in 1998, is seen docked at Dalian Port, in Dalian, Liaoning province September 22, 2012. Washington believes that the move will accelerate the tensions between the two countries.

China’s campaign of island building in the South China Sea might soon quadruple the number of airstrips available to the People’s Liberation Army in the highly contested and strategically vital region.

China has become increasingly assertive over its territorial claims in recent years and has been ramping up military spending.