Philippines' turn to respond to China's bombing in Hoang Sa
The Philippine Foreign Ministry announced on May 21 that it would "respond appropriately" to China's landing and taking off of bombers in the East Sea.
An H-6K bomber is escorted by two Su-35 fighters during a Chinese exercise - Photo: TAN HOA XA
Previously,China's air force confirmed that bombers, including H-6K bombers, recently conducted take-off and landing training on an island in the South China Sea.
The incident has sparked an angry reaction in Manila's political circles. The US has also condemned Beijing."increase tensions and destabilize the region".
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said it is closely monitoring developments.
"We are considering appropriate diplomatic action to protect our sovereignty claims and will continue to do so in the future," the statement from Manila stressed.
However, the Philippines' official statement stopped there without condemning China's actions, according to Reuters.
Philippine lawmakers have long criticized President Rodrigo Duterte for choosing not to confront Beijing in exchange for economic benefits.
On May 18, immediately after receiving official information from China about testing bombers on Phu Lam Island in Vietnam's Hoang Sa archipelago, which China is illegally occupying, Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Logan immediately issued a statement condemning this military move as "China's continued militarization of disputed entities in the East Sea".
Mr Logan said China's latest move would "increase tensions and destabilise the region".
The H-6K is the most modern upgraded version of the H-6 bomber. This bomber is a copy of the Soviet Tupolev Tu-16 aircraft from the 1950s. The H-6K is capable of carrying long-range cruise missiles.
On May 8, answering a reporter's question about information in foreign press related to China's deployment of missiles on structures it illegally built in Vietnam's Truong Sa archipelago, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang affirmed: "Once again, Vietnam affirms that it has sufficient legal basis and historical evidence to affirm Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos in accordance with international law.
Vietnam is extremely concerned about the above information and affirms that all militarization activities, including the deployment of missiles on Vietnam's Truong Sa archipelago, seriously violate Vietnam's sovereignty over the Truong Sa archipelago, go against the Agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of maritime issues between Vietnam and China, violate the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea between ASEAN and China (DOC), increase tensions, cause instability in the region and are not beneficial to the efforts of countries in negotiating the current Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).
Vietnam requests that China, as a major country in the region and the world, demonstrate responsibility in maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea, not conduct militarization, withdraw military equipment illegally deployed on structures under Vietnam's sovereignty, respect Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos, strictly comply with the Agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of maritime issues between Vietnam and China and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea between ASEAN and China."
