Vietnam may start flights to Spratlys
HANOI - Vietnam could start commercial flights to the disputed Spratly islands soon, with construction of an airport expected to be completed by the end of this year.
"The defence ministry is building an airport there," deputy transport minister Nguyen Tien Sam told Reuters on Tuesday. "If the airport is finished, we can fly anytime."
Tourism officials said in May the airport on Truong Sa Lon (Large Spratly) with a runway of 600 metres (2,000 feet) was expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Aviation experts say only very small passenger aircraft would be able to take off and land on a runway of that length.
The airport is part of Hanoi's tourism ambitions in an area claimed by several Asia countries and risks the ire of giant neighbour China.
Vietnam already has military facilities and local government officials in the area, comprised of scattered South China Sea atolls where Vietnam's navy clashed with Chinese ships in 1988.
Against protests from Spratlys claimants China, the Philippines and Taiwan, Vietnam last month sent its first group of tourists to the disputed South China Sea islands.
Media reports this month said Vietnam Airlines Services, an affiliate of the national carrier, planned to fly to the Spratlys.
When asked about it, Sam said: "I have not received their proposal and the government has yet to allow flights there."
Sam, who was speaking on the sidelines of an aerospace conference sponsored by Boeing Co., is also the general director of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam, which regulates all civil aviation activities in the country.
The airport would be capable of handling small aircraft such as twin-engine turboprop ATR 72s, aviation officials have said.
Unlisted national carrier Vietnam Airlines has eight ATR 72s in its fleet. Tourism officials have said Vietnam Airlines is expected to offer commercial flights for tours to the Spratlys.
It takes two days to travel by boat to the Spratlys, 250 nautical miles (460 kms) east of Vietnam's central province of Khanh Hoa. So far only Vietnamese military and the occasional chartered flights by helicopters have operated the route.
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 and China have had testy relations for 2,000 years.
Reuters - August 24, 2004.
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