It is said to be the first time China’s military has publicly admitted to landing a plane on the artificial island in the resource-rich South China Sea.
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Prime Minister John Key has been quick to shrug off an apparent warning to him in Chinese media about New Zealand’s position on the South China sea dispute.
The runway on the Fiery Cross Reef is 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) long and is one of three China has been building for more than a year by dredging sand up onto reefs and atolls in the Spratly archipelago.
Beijing in January carried out several of what it called civilian flights to Fiery Cross, enraging Hanoi.
They were taken in the transport aircraft back to Hainan island for treatment.
China claims nearly all of it as its own territory, and in recent years has built artificial islands with airstrips and stepped up its military presence.
According to Reuters, the runways may be capable of handling long-range bombers and transport aircraft, as well as China’s best jet fighters. The Philippines, which also claims islands and reefs controlled by China, criticized the move. “What’s new is the context of tension which exists, which we want to reduce”, he stated.Mr. Carter’s visit to the Philippines comes after a three-day visit to India, during which the two countries chose to reach military logistics supply agreement to get access to each other’s bases.United States of America marines and various military equipment are seen inside their bivouac on in Crow Valley, Tarlac province, Philippines.To compliment the maritime patrols, a contingent of U.S. aircraft including their crews and pilots will remain at Clark Air Base in Pampanga for air missions, Carter said. The speed with which the mission was accomplished was a testament to China’s long-term policy of patrolling over the South China Sea, said the paper, a nationalist tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily.
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As well as China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims to parts of the sea, which are home to some of the world’s most important shipping lanes and believed to sit atop vast oil reserves. This will allow Key to raise South China Sea issues with Beijing, but without risking any complication on the front of economic and trade issues.
