JUNE 1 (Reuters) — Vietnam’s deputy defense minister said on Saturday (May 30) that reports China had placed mobile artillery weapons on a reclaimed island in the disputed South China Sea were, if true, were a very worrying development.
“If it has actually happened it is a very bad sign for what is already a very complicated situation in the South China Sea,” General Nguyen Chi Vinh told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of a security forum in Singapore.
The United States said on Friday (May 29) that China had placed mobile artillery weapons on a reclaimed island in the disputed South China Sea. Analysts said the artillery could pose a threat to nearby Vietnamese bases, also on disputed territory.
The development was described by the Pentagon as one that creates more “uncertainty” in a situation that has grown increasingly tense over the past six months after satellite images showed significant land reclamation activities by China.
The U.S. says the Chinese have added some 2,000 acres to five outposts in the resource-rich Spratlys islands, including 1,500 acres this year.
China says the islands are in sovereign Chinese territory.
Vinh said it is not in the region’s interest to have conflict between U.S. and China.
“We always want those major powers to have a good relation with each other and to not hurt the interest of the smaller nations like Vietnam,” he said.
“I always hope that the international community will always be responsible for the peace, stability and development of the region and not ignore that act of violating international law,” Vinh added.
On Friday, Vinh held a bilateral meeting with Admiral Sun Jianguo, a deputy chief of staff of China’s People’s Liberation Army, where he said he asked them to respect his country’s sovereignty.
The Admiral, China’s lead representative at the forum is set to make a speech at the forum on Sunday (May 31).
