Islands illegally built by China in Vietnam’s Truong Sa archipelago (Photo: EPA)
(VOVworld) - China’s recent landing of aircraft on Fiery Cross reef in the Spratlys or Truong Sa islands in the East Sea, is escalating tensions and instability in the region, said the Pentagon on Thursday. Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told reporters in Washington that the US is concerned by these flights as well as all of these activities being conducted by the Chinese in disputed islands in the East Sea. He added that the US thinks that anything being done by any country to try and raise tensions over these disputed islands, and to try and militarize or engage in reclamation activities in these islands, will only add to instability in the East Sea. Cook said the US calls for a diplomatic resolution to these issues in the East Sea.
In a joint press conference on Thursday in Manila with Filipino Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said that freedom of navigation and over flight are non-negotiable, adding that any attempt to restrict air and sea travel in the East Sea would be viewed as a "red line" for the UK. Hammond said the UK will continue its measures to ensure freedom of navigation and aviation in the region.
Mr. Rosario expressed his concern over China’s pilot flights to the Fiery Cross in the Spratly or Truong Sa archipelago, calling it an unacceptable move of China.