Hanoi protest over test flight rejected

China has dismissed a protest by Vietnam after a Chinese civilian aircraft landed on one of the Nansha Islands, saying that the operation was carried out within Chinese sovereignty.

China carried out a test flight to a newly built airfield on the island of Yongshu Jiao to see whether the facility met civil aviation standards, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Saturday.

Hua made the remarks in response to objections voiced by Vietnam's Foreign Ministry.