Hanoi formally protested China’s reported decision to put an antiaircraft battery on a disputed island in the Paracel chain in the South China Sea telling Beijing that the move threatens “regional peace and security: and violates Vietnam’s sovereignty. “These actions seriously infringe Viet Nam's sovereignty over the Paracel Archipelago, threaten the regional peace and stability as well as security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said in a statement Friday using Vietnam’s term for the sea. “Viet Nam asks China to immediately stop such erroneous actions,” he added. The statement said diplomatic notes had been issued to China's embassy in Hanoi and to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to protest at Beijing's activities. Read more
