China illegally deployed Y-8 transport aircraft to Fiery Cross Reef.

A Chinese Navy Y-8 transport aircraft brazenly landed on an illegally constructed runway on Fiery Cross Reef in Vietnam's Spratly Islands to transport three of its workers to the hospital.

A Y-8 aircraft illegally landed on Fiery Cross Reef to transport three sick workers back to Sanya. Photo: ChinaNews

According toChina News,Yesterday, a Chinese Navy Y-8 aircraft, numbered 9271, brazenly flew to Fiery Cross Reef after receiving orders to transport three sick workers back to Sanya City, Hainan Island for treatment. Prior to this, a...This aircraft is reportedly on a patrol mission in the South China Sea.At approximately 1:50 PM on the same day, the plane landed at Phoenix Airport in Sanya.

Military forums ofChinasaid, the runwaythis countryThe illegal construction on Cross Reef could accommodate the takeoff of various types of civilian aircraft, fighter jets, and large transport aircraft, meeting the needs for emergency response and resupply of equipment and supplies on the reef.

In early April, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of China, Fan Changlong, illegally inspected the rocks that China has occupied and illegally reclaimed into artificial islands in Vietnam's Spratly Islands to check on the progress of construction projects.

In early January, China repeatedly tested landings on the runway of the artificial island it illegally built on Fiery Cross Reef. Following China's illegal deployment of aircraft to Fiery Cross Reef,Representatives from the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs met with representatives from the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi and handed over a diplomatic note of protest.

Vietnam considers China's actions to be a serious violation of Vietnam's sovereignty over the Spratly Islands, contrary to the common understanding of the two countries' high-level leaders, the Agreement on Basic Principles Guiding the Resolution of the Maritime Issues between Vietnam and China, and the spirit of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

Vietnam demands that China immediately cease and refrain from repeating similar actions, and take practical and concrete steps to contribute to maintaining peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea.

The runway on Fiery Cross Reef is 3,000 meters long and is one of three runways that Beijing has built illegally. Since 2014, China has illegally reclaimed and built on at least seven reefs belonging to Vietnam's Spratly Islands.

According to VNE