Taiwan accused of Spratlys violation

Taiwan accused of Spratlys violation

VIETNAM: Vietnam has accused Taiwan of putting up a building on a coral reef that is part of the disputed Spratlys islands, to which the communist country expects to send its first group of tourists next month.

Taiwan has put up a house on the Ban Than coral reef on the archipelago in the South China Sea, Vietnam's Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung said in a statement late on Tuesday.

The cluster of dozens of submerged islets, rocks and reefs in an area believed to be rich in oil and natural gas is claimed in whole or in part by China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.

"Vietnam vehemently condemns Taiwan's actions and demands an immediate end to such operations on Vietnam's Truong Sa (Spratlys) archipelago," state media quoted Dung as saying. He accused Taiwan of "land-grabbing expansion".

Taiwan's foreign ministry had no immediate comment.

Last November, Vietnam charged Taiwan with driving away its fishing boats from waters near the Ban Than islet in the Spratlys. --Reuters