Woody Island Missiles
Vietnam expressed on Friday its deep concern over the deployment by China of advanced surface-to-air missile systems on the Paracels by filing a formal protest with the United Nations. Hanoi sent the diplomatic note to U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon and the Chinese embassy in the Vietnamese capital city.
The missile systems were deployed to Woody Island, part of the Paracels that China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam are all claiming ownership, American and Taiwanese officials said on Wednesday. They showed commercial satellite images of Woody Island with the missiles.
Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh, said in a statement, “These are serious infringements over the Paracels, threatening peace and stability in the region as well as security, safety and freedom of navigation and flight,” quoted Reuters.
In turn, China accused the U.S. of displaying its military might in the South China Sea where the disputed islands are located. Hong Lei, spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, pointed specifically to the deployment by the U.S. military of aircraft and military vessels, plus the holding of joint military exercises with its allies in the region, such as the Philippines, why Beijing is concerned over the region’s stability and peace.
“The above actions have escalated tensions in the South China Sea, and that’s the real militarization of the South China Sea,” said Hong.
Beijing has not denied the deployment of missiles in Woody Island, but insisted China has the right to defend its territory, referring to the disputed island, which is why it built facilities on it such as weather stations, lighthouses and other infrastructure that would make available more “public goods and services to the international community,” reported the Associated Press.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement, “Such actions negate China’s earlier commitment not to militarize the South China Sea.”
