China Defends Test Flight in South China Sea
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, however, denied the island building is aimed at boosting its military might, and Hua Chunying, foreign ministry spokeswoman, reiterated China’s position that it had “indisputable sovereignty” to the Spratlys, which are called the Nansha Islands in China.
Hanoi said the airfield had been “illegal built” in Vietnamese territory and has handed a protest note to China’s embassy.
China rejected what it described as “the unfounded accusation from the Vietnamese side”, insisting that the “test flight to the airport with a civil aircraft [was] in order to test whether or not the facilities on it meet the standards for civil aviation”. He said claimants should instead focus on reaching agreement on acceptable behavior in disputed areas.
The runway that China has built illegally on Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands in the East Sea.
Besides Kagitingan, China built artificial islands on Calderon (Cuarteron), Burgos (Gaven), Mabini (Johnson South), Panganiban (Mischief), Zamora (Subi) and McKennan (Hughes) reefs, all claimed by the Philippines and within the country’s 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone recognized under Unclos.
It said the landing was part of a test flight to the recently completed airfield and was completely within China’s sovereignty. India, the US, Japan and other Asian countries have expressed their concern over China’s tactics in the South China Sea.
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.
Jose, meanwhile, said Manila is awaiting the final decision of the case the Philippines has filed against China with the arbitral tribunal of the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea.
Vietnam also claims the Fiery Cross reef.
Ms Hua added that China hoped Vietnam could work to achieve “sustainable, healthy and stable” development of bilateral ties.
Beijing accuses Washington of meddling in the regional issues and deliberately stirring up tensions in the South China Sea.
So, if you divide up all the people of Taiwan according to their cultures, they already embody within themselves numerous major claimants to the South China Seas.