Malaysia complains to Vietnam over reef expansion
Malaysia has sent a complaint letter to Vietnam over its alleged expansion of a South China Sea reef that both countries claim as their own, two officials told Reuters, in a rare bilateral escalation not involving China.
The move brings to light another of the multiple disputes in the strategic waterway, most of which China claims sovereignty over, with Beijing involved in frequent altercations with the Philippines and sporadic rows with Vietnam.
Claims
The most contested features are around the Spratly archipelago, where China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and the Philippines all have various claims.
Malaysia’s letter was sent to Vietnam’s foreign ministry in early October but has so far received no reply, the two officials said, declining to be identified more precisely because the matter was sensitive.
The complaint was over Vietnam’s alleged artificial expansion of the Barque Canada Reef, an islet in the Spratlys where Vietnam has built numerous infrastructure, according to satellite images analyzed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, which were released last month.
In late October Radio Free Asia reported that Vietnam was also building an airstrip on the reef.
Vietnam’s foreign ministry did not reply to a request for comment. Malaysia’s foreign ministry did not comment.
