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Chinese stewardesses on Yongshu Island, South China Sea

That is super kool the tree planting goes to show China is literally planning everything it wants to accomplish in the South China Sea hats of to you
 
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Chinese spokesman’s arguments completely wrongful: aviation authority
The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman put forward a number of wrong and dangerous arguments to defend the country’s recent test flights to a reef in the East Sea, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has said.
At a regular press conference on January 11, Spokesman of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hong Lei answered questions regarding the CAAV’s press communiqué on Chinese airplanes’ operations in the Ho Chi Minh Flight Information Region (FIR).

He stated that China’s test flights to the newly built airstrip on the so-called Yongshu Island, which is internationally known as Fiery Cross Reef, were activities totally within China’s sovereignty.

That statement intentionally asserted that the air corridor from China’s Hainan Island through the Ho Chi Minh FIR to Fiery Cross Reef was within China’s air sovereignty. It is completely false and groundless and directly imperils the civil aviation’s normal activities and safety over the East Sea, the CAAV said.

China also declared that its planes’ flights into and across international air routes, which were set up by relevant countries and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), were totally within the country’s freedom and exempt from international civil-aviation rules.

Such a declaration has clearly provoked Vietnam and the international aviation community’s deep concerns over a nation’s responsibility towards ensuring aviation safety, the CAAV said.

The CAAV completely rejected Chinese spokesman Hong Lei’s statement on January 11 and determinedly opposed this action, the authority noted, demanding the Chinese side’s immediate cessation and that it not to repeat similar flights. They should have practical and concrete actions to help maintain aviation safety over the East Sea.

Vietnam’s aviation management agencies are exerting efforts to closely monitor and guarantee the absolute safety of normal flights in the FIRs under its management, the CAAV added.

Additionally, the CAAV and the Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation checked official documents, messages, faxes, emails and telegrams at all relevant agencies and units listed in Vietnam’s Aeronautical Information Publication and the phone call history of Vietnam’s relevant air traffic services units from 0:00 am of December 28 to December 29.

There were no notifications of the above-mentioned flights sent by the Chinese Embassy, as the embassy had stated, the CAAV emphasised.

The authority added that the Chinese diplomatic agency’s notification to a Vietnamese diplomatic agency could not replace the proper announcement of flights, nor the correct establishment of contact with the air traffic services provider, in a controlled airspace.
 
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U.S. vows to continue patrols after China warns spy plane
WASHINGTON | BY DAVID BRUNNSTROM


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The United States vowed on Thursday to keep up air and sea patrols in international waters after the Chinese navy repeatedly warned a U.S. surveillance plane to leave the airspace over artificial islands China is creating in the disputed South China Sea.

The Chinese navy issued eight warnings to the crew of a U.S. P8-A Poseidon, the U.S. military's most advanced surveillance aircraft, when it conducted the overflights on Wednesday, according to CNN, which was aboard the U.S. aircraft.

When the American pilots responded by saying the plane was flying through international airspace, a Chinese radio operator said with exasperation: "This is the Chinese navy ... You go!"

The Poseidon flew as low as 15,000 feet (4,500 meters), CNN said, and video provided by the Pentagon appeared to have been taken from directly above one artificial island.

The incident, along with recent Chinese warnings to Philippine military aircraft to leave areas around the Spratly archipelago in the South China Sea, suggested Beijing is trying to enforce a military exclusion zone above its new islands there.

Some security experts worry about the risk of confrontation, especially after a U.S. official said last week that the Pentagon was considering sending military aircraft and ships to assert freedom of navigation around the Chinese-made islands.

The senior U.S. diplomat for the East Asia, Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel, told a media briefing in Washington the U.S. reconnaissance flight was "entirely appropriate" and that U.S. naval forces and military aircraft would "continue to fully exercise" the right to operate in international waters and airspace.

He said the United States would go further to preserve the ability of all countries to move in international waters and airspace.

"Nobody in their right mind is going to try to stop the U.S. Navy from operating - that would not be a good bet," he said.

"But it’s not enough that a U.S. military plane can overfly international waters, even if there is challenge or hailing query ... We believe that every country and all civilian actors should have unfettered access to international waters and international airspace."

A spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry said he was not aware of the incident.

"China has the right to engage in monitoring in the relevant airspace and waters to protect the country's sovereignty and prevent accidents at sea," ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a regular briefing. "We hope the relevant country can earnestly respect China's sovereignty in the South China Sea."



HIVE OF CONSTRUCTION

Footage taken by the P8-A Poseidon over the new islands, and aired by CNN, showed a hive of construction and dredging activity, as well as Chinese navy ships nearby.

CNN said it was the first time the Pentagon had declassified video of China's building activity and audio of challenges to a U.S. aircraft.

"We were just challenged 30 minutes ago and the challenge came from the Chinese navy," Captain Mike Parker, commander of U.S. surveillance aircraft deployed to Asia, told CNN on the flight.

"I'm highly confident it came from ashore, this facility here," Parker said, pointing to an early warning radar station on Fiery Cross Reef.

Military facilities on Fiery Cross Reef, including a 3,000-metre (10,000-foot) runway, could be operational by year's end, one U.S. commander recently told Reuters, and Washington is concerned China will use it to press its extensive territorial claims at the expense of weaker rivals.

China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last week asserted Beijing's right to reclaim the reefs and said China's determination to protect its interests was "as hard as a rock."

China has also said it had every right to set up an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the South China Sea but that current conditions did not warrant one.

ADIZs are used by some nations to extend control beyond national borders, requiring civilian and military aircraft to identify themselves or face possible military interception.

During the P8-A Poseidon mission, the pilot of a Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) flight in the area spoke on the same frequency after hearing the Chinese challenges and identified himself as commercial. The Chinese voice reassured the pilot and the Delta flight went on its way, CNN said.

Delta Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



(Writing by Dean Yates, additional reporting by Michael Martina in Bejing and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by Paul Tait, Jonathan Oatis and Steve Orlofsky)
 
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