PLAN SCS Bases/Islands/Vessels (Not a Strategy Page)
- Thread starter lilzz
- Start date
A couple of pictures of Qilian Yu (Seven Islets) in the Paracel Islands.
Starting from the top left corner, West Sand Island, Tree Island, then followed by the Seven Islets.
The large island at the bottom is Yongxing (Woody) Island.
The very top is Tree Island. The rest are the Seven Islets.
Most of them are natural islands.
Starting from the top left corner, West Sand Island, Tree Island, then followed by the Seven Islets.
The large island at the bottom is Yongxing (Woody) Island.
The very top is Tree Island. The rest are the Seven Islets.
Most of them are natural islands.
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Validation flight started off Yongshu airstrip using civilian aircraft, confirmed by Chinese government:
问：据报道，越南外交部发言人1月2日发表谈话，表示反对中方在南沙群岛永暑礁新建机场进行校验试飞。请问中方对此有何评论？
答：中国南沙群岛永暑礁新建机场已竣工。中国政府征用民航飞机对该机场进行校验试飞，旨在测试该机场设施是否符合民用航空标准。有关活动完全是中方主权范围内的事情。
中国对南沙群岛及其附近海域拥有无可争辩的主权。中方不接受越方的无理指责。
当前中越关系总体保持发展势头。希望越方同中方相向而行，以实际行动推动中越双边关系持续健康稳定发展。
问：据报道，越南外交部发言人1月2日发表谈话，表示反对中方在南沙群岛永暑礁新建机场进行校验试飞。请问中方对此有何评论？
答：中国南沙群岛永暑礁新建机场已竣工。中国政府征用民航飞机对该机场进行校验试飞，旨在测试该机场设施是否符合民用航空标准。有关活动完全是中方主权范围内的事情。
中国对南沙群岛及其附近海域拥有无可争辩的主权。中方不接受越方的无理指责。
当前中越关系总体保持发展势头。希望越方同中方相向而行，以实际行动推动中越双边关系持续健康稳定发展。
I managed to locate the English version.
FYI, Yongshu Jiao is Fiery Cross Island.
Looks like the airstrip is ready for civilian use.
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2016-01-03 04:00:23 | Xinhua Web | Editor: Niu Honglin
A test flight to a newly-built airfield on a South China Sea reef was a matter "completely within China's sovereignty," a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said late Saturday evening.
Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China has finished building an airfield on Yongshu Jiao of China's Nansha Islands.
The Chinese government used a civil aircraft to conduct the flight in order to test whether the airfield facilities meet civil aviation standards, she said, in response to reported objections of Vietnam's foreign ministry.
"China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters. China will not accept the unfounded accusation from the Vietnamese side," Hua said.
At present, the relations between China and Vietnam maintain a momentum of development. China hopes Vietnam can work accordingly to achieve "sustainable, healthy and stable" development of bilateral ties, Hua said.
FYI, Yongshu Jiao is Fiery Cross Island.
Looks like the airstrip is ready for civilian use.
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2016-01-03 04:00:23 | Xinhua Web | Editor: Niu Honglin
A test flight to a newly-built airfield on a South China Sea reef was a matter "completely within China's sovereignty," a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said late Saturday evening.
Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China has finished building an airfield on Yongshu Jiao of China's Nansha Islands.
The Chinese government used a civil aircraft to conduct the flight in order to test whether the airfield facilities meet civil aviation standards, she said, in response to reported objections of Vietnam's foreign ministry.
"China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters. China will not accept the unfounded accusation from the Vietnamese side," Hua said.
At present, the relations between China and Vietnam maintain a momentum of development. China hopes Vietnam can work accordingly to achieve "sustainable, healthy and stable" development of bilateral ties, Hua said.
Hendrik_2000
Lieutenant General
Gee it fast the end of the year they probably finish the rest of the building. Vietnam protest
Vietnam tells China not to conduct test-flights to disputed Fiery Cross Reef
By on in , ,
(From Reuters)
Vietnam formally accused China of violating its sovereignty and a recent confidence-building pact on Saturday by landing a plane on an airstrip Beijing has built in a contested part of the South China Sea.
Le Hai Binhnoi
Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said China had conducted a test-flight to the airfield, “built illegally on Fiery Cross Reef, which is part of Vietnam’s Spratlys”.
In a statement, he called it “a serious infringement of the sovereignty of Vietnam on the Spratly archipelago, contrary to the common perception of high-ranking leaders of the two countries and (to) an agreement on the basic principles for directly solving maritime issues between Vietnam and China”.
Vietnam handed a protest note to China’s embassy and asked China not to repeat the action, Binh said.
The two communist-led states’ competing claims in the South China Sea came to a head in 2014 when Beijing parked an oil rig off the Vietnamese coast, leading to anti-China riots.
Late last year, China completed an airfield on Fiery Cross Reef that security experts say could accommodate most Chinese military aircraft.
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Hanoi in November, at a time of uncertainty over what kind of leader will emerge from this month’s five-yearly congress of the Vietnamese communist party, traditionally close to Beijing but now getting intense Western attention, from the United States in particular.
Both sides agreed during Xi’s visit to maintain peace in the sea and build a relationship of trust.
China claims almost all the South China Sea, which is believed to have huge deposits of oil and gas, and through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year, and has been building up military facilities on the islands it controls.
Vietnam tells China not to conduct test-flights to disputed Fiery Cross Reef
By on in , ,
(From Reuters)
Vietnam formally accused China of violating its sovereignty and a recent confidence-building pact on Saturday by landing a plane on an airstrip Beijing has built in a contested part of the South China Sea.
Le Hai Binhnoi
Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said China had conducted a test-flight to the airfield, “built illegally on Fiery Cross Reef, which is part of Vietnam’s Spratlys”.
In a statement, he called it “a serious infringement of the sovereignty of Vietnam on the Spratly archipelago, contrary to the common perception of high-ranking leaders of the two countries and (to) an agreement on the basic principles for directly solving maritime issues between Vietnam and China”.
Vietnam handed a protest note to China’s embassy and asked China not to repeat the action, Binh said.
The two communist-led states’ competing claims in the South China Sea came to a head in 2014 when Beijing parked an oil rig off the Vietnamese coast, leading to anti-China riots.
Late last year, China completed an airfield on Fiery Cross Reef that security experts say could accommodate most Chinese military aircraft.
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Hanoi in November, at a time of uncertainty over what kind of leader will emerge from this month’s five-yearly congress of the Vietnamese communist party, traditionally close to Beijing but now getting intense Western attention, from the United States in particular.
Both sides agreed during Xi’s visit to maintain peace in the sea and build a relationship of trust.
China claims almost all the South China Sea, which is believed to have huge deposits of oil and gas, and through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year, and has been building up military facilities on the islands it controls.
Blackstone
Brigadier
My guess is Vietnam will test their new found 'friendship' with the US and see how they can manufacture a mini-crisis that ensnares Washington. Pipe dream, IMHO, but you never know. I also wonder if USN would up the pressure on China with a FONOP in the Parcels, and if so, would Vietnam join?
Routine protest from Vietnam done dutifully. Vietnam is too smart to join some US FONOP activities in Spratly, let alone Parcels.
Some in the US are very eager to call up "allies" to participate the show, but have been quite disappointed so far. Even Japan has only given lip-service.
How did Vietnam found out Chinese plane landed at fiery cross??
Well, its not through detection, rather they comb through Chinese sites daily for any info. Even those unofficial military sites. That's how they found out.
They read Chinese sites more dutifully than average Chinese! Lol. Really paranoid
Once they found out from the unofficial site about the landing, they made a official protest based on that. Lol!
Well, its not through detection, rather they comb through Chinese sites daily for any info. Even those unofficial military sites. That's how they found out.
They read Chinese sites more dutifully than average Chinese! Lol. Really paranoid
Once they found out from the unofficial site about the landing, they made a official protest based on that. Lol!
