South China Sea: Vietnam verification of China Changsha fighters

South China Sea: Vietnam verification of China Changsha fighters

Vietnam is currently investigating China's fighter-crafting in the Spratly islands and has asked the South China Sea stakeholders to respect Vietnam's sovereignty. In a regular press conference on March 30, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh responded to reporters' questions about China's readiness to engage in warfare and military equipment. "Vietnamese authorities are verifying this information." Vietnam affirms that there is sufficient legal basis and evidence to assert Vietnam's sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos, "he said. Le Hai Binh said.

"Stakeholders need to respect Vietnam's sovereignty, to act responsibly, not to commit acts of violation of Vietnam's sovereignty, to affect regional peace, and to complicate the situation in the South China Sea." "Binh added.

Viet Nam's Stone Cross, one of the illegally built entities in China. Photo: NYT

Answering the question of Vietnam's response to China and the Philippines about to hold bilateral talks on the South China Sea issue, Le Hai Binh said Vietnam's consistent view is that it welcomes the disputed parties to the dispute. Resolved peacefully based on international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS).

The Asian Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC, said on March 27 that China had almost completed building its military infrastructure. On the artificial islands of this country illegally reformed in the South China Sea including Xu Bi stone, Mischief Reef and Cross Stone in the Spratly Islands. AMTI warned Beijing could deploy fighter jets and military equipment at any time.

According to AMTI experts, with air bases in the three largest illegal artificial islands in the Spratly Islands and a base in Phu Lam island of the Paracel archipelago of Vietnam, military aircraft China will be able to operate almost across the entire South China Sea.