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