Vietnam dismisses China's accounts of test flights

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam has dismissed China's accounts of its test flights to an island in disputed waters, saying it received no information of the flights as claimed by a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman.

China Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told the media Monday that China's three test flights to the Fiery Cross Reefs earlier this month were state aviation activities and had no restrictions by international law, but that it had informed Vietnamese authority of them.

Vietnam Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh rejected Hong's statement as a "wrong position," saying Vietnamese authorities did not receive any information from China. He says in a statement posted on the ministry's website late Tuesday that China's test flights had affected security and aviation safety in the South China Sea.