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China defends test flight in South China Sea after Vietnam objects

By Katie Hunt and Kevin Wang, CNN

Updated 0125 GMT (0925 HKT) January 4, 2016

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Story highlights

• China conducts test flight from airstrip in South China Sea
• Vietnam says considers action serious infringement

Hong Kong (CNN)China has defended conducting a test flight on a newly built airfield on reclaimed land in disputed waters in the South China Sea after objections from Vietnam.

Hua Chunying, China's foreign ministry spokesperson, said Saturday that a civilian aircraft used by the Chinese government conducted a test flight at the new airport on Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands.

Hua said the activity is "entirely within the range of China's sovereignty concerns."

Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it considered the action a serious infringement of the sovereignty of Vietnam on the Spratly Islands and asked China to not to repeat the flight.

Dotted with small islands, reefs and shoals, the South China Sea is home to a messy territorial dispute that pits multiple countries against each other.

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In the past two years, China has reclaimed some 2,000 acres of land in a massive dredging operation, turning sandbars into islands equipped with airfields, ports and lighthouses.

While China is not the only country to have an airstrip in the disputed waters, it's the only country to have one capable of handling a bomber.

CNN's Chieu Luu contributed to this report