AFP, Manila :
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Thursday on a visit to the Philippines that any attempt to restrict air and sea travel in the disputed South China Sea would be viewed as a “red flag”.
China said it landed three planes over Fiery Cross Reef in recent days, prompting protests from rival claimants Vietnam and the Philippines, and raising fears it could impose military controls in the area.
“Freedom of navigation and overflight are non-negotiable. They are red flags for us,” Hammond told a joint news conference with his Filipino counterpart, Albert del Rosario, in Manila.
Hammond, whose Manila visit followed a trip to China, did not elaborate on what action would be taken if the “red flag” was raised, other than to say Britain would continue to assert its right to sail in the area.
Del Rosario said he was worried that, with the test flights, China was laying the groundwork for the declaration of an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ), similar to the one it declared in the East China Sea that riled Japan.
“If this is not challenged, China will take the position that the ADIZ could be imposed and whether this is done in terms of a de facto basis or whether it is official, this will deemed as unacceptable to us,” Del Rosario said.
Vietnam, another claimant in the South China Sea, has also condemned the test flights as a violation of its sovereignty.
China has alarmed its rivals with its massive reclamation and construction of facilities on disputed reefs, including a 3,000-metre (9,842-foot) runway on Fiery Cross, around 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from the southern province of Hainan.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Saturday after announcing the first test flight that it was “civilian” in nature.
The Philippines has asked a United Nations-backed tribunal to void China’s claim over almost the entire South China Sea. It expects a decision this year.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Thursday on a visit to the Philippines that any attempt to restrict air and sea travel in the disputed South China Sea would be viewed as a “red flag”.
China said it landed three planes over Fiery Cross Reef in recent days, prompting protests from rival claimants Vietnam and the Philippines, and raising fears it could impose military controls in the area.
“Freedom of navigation and overflight are non-negotiable. They are red flags for us,” Hammond told a joint news conference with his Filipino counterpart, Albert del Rosario, in Manila.
Hammond, whose Manila visit followed a trip to China, did not elaborate on what action would be taken if the “red flag” was raised, other than to say Britain would continue to assert its right to sail in the area.
Del Rosario said he was worried that, with the test flights, China was laying the groundwork for the declaration of an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ), similar to the one it declared in the East China Sea that riled Japan.
“If this is not challenged, China will take the position that the ADIZ could be imposed and whether this is done in terms of a de facto basis or whether it is official, this will deemed as unacceptable to us,” Del Rosario said.
Vietnam, another claimant in the South China Sea, has also condemned the test flights as a violation of its sovereignty.
China has alarmed its rivals with its massive reclamation and construction of facilities on disputed reefs, including a 3,000-metre (9,842-foot) runway on Fiery Cross, around 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from the southern province of Hainan.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Saturday after announcing the first test flight that it was “civilian” in nature.
The Philippines has asked a United Nations-backed tribunal to void China’s claim over almost the entire South China Sea. It expects a decision this year.
