Vietnam warned over tour in Spratlys

Vietnam warned over tour in Spratlys

PHILIPPINES: A Philippine foreign affairs official on Monday
warned a controversial eight-day tour of Vietnam officials to the
disputed Spratly Islands may raise tensions in the area.

Foreign Undersecretary Franklin Ebdalin said Filipino
diplomats have yet to file an official report on the tour, which
began on earlier Monday from Saigon Port.

"But we have to remind Vietnam that there is a code of conduct
under which the signatories should refrain from committing acts
that would disrupt the status quo in the region," he said.

"They should not do something that would increase the
tension," he added.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said 100
people, including government officials, were aboard the boat that
sailed out from Saigon for the "experimental trip" to the
Spratlys.

Foreign journalists and tourists were not allowed to join the
trip.

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