RP says Vietnam fired at plane<\/p>\n
MANILA (Reuters): The Philippines on Thursday accused
\nVietnamese troops of shooting at a Philippine aircraft over the
\ndisputed Spratly Islands and said it had expressed its \"greatest
\nconcern\" to Hanoi.<\/p>\n
Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon said the Philippine Air Force
\nplane was investigating a three-story concrete facility being
\nbuilt by Vietnam on a reef claimed by the two countries when it
\nwas shot at on Oct. 13. The plane was not hit.<\/p>\n
He said the Philippine foreign ministry protested against the
\nshooting and the expansion of the Vietnamese facility on the reef
\nin a formal note handed to Vietnam's ambassador in Manila, Nguyen
\nThac Dinh, on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"We view with the greatest concern these recent acts of
\nVietnam,\" Siazon said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\"These acts, particularly the firing of shots at the
\nPhilippine aircraft, are a clear assailment of the letter and
\nspirit of various regional, multilateral and regional agreements
\nand declarations entered into by both the Philippine and
\nVietnamese governments,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In Hanoi, Vietnam's Foreign Ministry did not comment on the
\nincident except to issue a statement saying the country had full
\nsovereignty over the Spratlys but that claimants there should
\nexercise restraint.<\/p>\n
Siazon said the plane was shot at by Vietnamese troops while
\ntrying to get a closer look at the \"soon-to-be-complete
\nfacility\".<\/p>\n
Siazon said the shooting took place about the same time as
\nofficials of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)
\nwere in Bangkok to discuss a proposed code of conduct aimed at
\npreventing accidental conflicts in the Spratlys.<\/p>\n
The Spratlys are a cluster of nearly 200 largely barren isles,
\nreefs and rocky outcrops in the South China sea that are claimed
\nwholly or in part by China, Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines,
\nMalaysia and Brunei. They are believed to potentially rich in oil
\nand natural gas.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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