Spratly lighthouse inaugurated

Spratly lighthouse inaugurated

HANOI (DPA): Vietnam has inaugurated a lighthouse on a reef in a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea in a bid to develop the region's economy, a naval commander said on Monday.

The 20-meter-tall lighthouse is located on Tien Nu (Fairy) reef, 463 nautical miles (857 kilometers) east of Vietnam's mainland and in the heart of the disputed territory.

"It is used mainly for navigation purposes, but it is also one of the indications that confirms Vietnamese sovereignty over the Spratly Islands," said Pham Duc Linh, commander of Naval Region Number 4, which includes the archipelago.

The lighthouse, which casts a beam of light more than 27 kilometers, is about three kilometers from a Vietnamese military base located on another reef.

The Spratlys are claimed in whole or in part by China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan and Vietnam.