Chinese ships appear illegally in the waters surrounding Van Khanh Reef in Vietnam's Truong Sa archipelago. (Source: Reuters)

According to the newspaper, the Truong Sa archipelago consists of about 150 small islands, coral islands and reefs, of which the land area only accounts for about 5 km.^2​.

The article wrote that although this is an area disputed with several other countries in the region, the Beijing government still arrogantly asserts that China has "historical grounds" and territorial sovereignty over almost the entire East Sea, including coastal areas of other countries, while this is an important strategic shipping route, where about one-third of the crude oil traded in the world is transported back and forth.

The German newspaper commented that China is increasingly aggressive in its territorial claims. Specifically, on one of the above islands, the Chinese government has even built a third runway. Last month, Beijing also declared that it would not allow "any country" to violate China's territorial waters or the airspace over the Spratly Islands.

China's moves have worried the United States. Washington warned China in May to exercise restraint. However, the United States has increasingly expressed concern about China's claims.

The US responded with an unusual mission, deploying the destroyer USS Lassen to the area near the Spratly Islands on the morning of October 27, about 12 nautical miles from the artificial islands that China illegally built in the East Sea.

According to a US military representative, this is a regular activity, in accordance with international law and in the coming weeks, the US will continue to conduct such patrols. German newspaper quoted CNN as saying that US President Barack Obama himself had ordered this patrol mission in the East Sea./.

According to Vietnam+