Vietnam puts off plan for flights to Spratlys
It reverses announcement made earlier this week to fly to disputed islands after China angrily denounces proposal
HANOI - Vietnam said yesterday it had no immediate plans to start commercial flights to the disputed Spratly islands, apparently seeking to defuse tension with China after it angrily denounced the proposal.
On Tuesday, Deputy Transport Minister Nguyen Tien Sam said Vietnam could soon begin flying to the islands where the government is building an airport expected to be completed by the end of this year.
That comment sparked an irate reaction from China, which called the flight plan 'illegal and invalid' and said it was seeking clarification from Hanoi.
Mr Nguyen Hai Thanh, a marketing official for Vietnam Airlines Services Co, a wholly owned subsidiary of the flag carrier, had said last week the company could open a new route to the Spratlys next year.
'It is aimed at promoting tourism. The project will be submitted to Vietnam Airlines and to the government for approval in either September or October.
'If things go as planned, the company will use Russian-made Antonov 38s to fly to the archipelago early next year,' he was reported as saying.
But in an apparent reversal of its stance, Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung said in a statement to Reuters yesterday: 'In the time ahead, Vietnam has yet to have plans on organising flights to Truong Sa (the Spratlys).'
Most of the Spratlys - a cluster of rocks and reefs believed to be rich in oil and natural gas - are claimed in whole or in part by China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Vietnam, which organised a tour to the South China Sea islands this year, already has military facilities and local government officials there.
Hanoi has said its development of the islands for tourism is normal since it considers them part of its territory.
It takes two days' travel by boat to the Spratlys, 250 nautical miles east of Vietnam's central province of Khanh Hoa.
Reuters - August 28, 2004.
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