Malaysia complains to Vietnam over reef expansion in South China Sea: Sources, Asia News

Malaysia has sent a letter of complaint to Vietnam over the alleged expansion of a reef in the South China Sea that both countries claim, two officials told Reuters, in a rare bilateral escalation not involving China.

The move highlights another of the many disputes in the strategic waterway, most of which China claims sovereignty over, and Beijing is involved in frequent disputes with the Philippines and sporadic disputes with Vietnam.

The most disputed sites are around the Spratly archipelago, where China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and the Philippines have varying claims and degrees of occupation.

Malaysia’s letter was sent to Vietnam’s foreign ministry in early October, but no response has yet been received, the two officials said, declining to divulge specifics because the matter was sensitive.

The complaint concerned Vietnam’s alleged artificial expansion of Bark Canada Reef, an islet in the Spratlys where Vietnam has built extensive infrastructure, according to satellite images analyzed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, that were released. last month

In late October, Radio Free Asia reported that Vietnam was also building an airstrip on the reef.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a request for comment. Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment.

The letter preceded those publications and criticized only the expansion of the island, not the construction of infrastructure, one of the officials said.

The tiny Spratly Islands have seen significant construction in recent years as countries seek to assert their territorial claims and prove they can support human habitation on dozens of islets and sites.

China’s activities have attracted the most attention: seven islands built on underwater reefs, some equipped with airstrips, docks, control towers and missile batteries.

Although territorial disputes between Malaysia and Vietnam are rare, Malaysia has regularly contested the intrusion of Vietnamese fishermen into its exclusive economic zone, leading to the arrest of some crews.

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