China lands 1st civilian plane on disputed Spratly Islands.

China lands 1st civilian plane on disputed Spratly Islands. (RT).

A test flight by a civilian plane landed on an island in the South China Sea, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. It’s the first time China has done so in the disputed Spratly Islands. Tensions are now high with neighboring Vietnam and the Philippines.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at the weekend the test flight of a non-military aircraft was intended to check if the runway meets civilian aviation standards and fell “completely within China's sovereignty,” according to Reuters.

The runway is at the Chinese-administered Fiery Cross Reef, where Beijing has built an artificial island in the middle of the South China Sea. However, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines also lay claim to the area. The runway is 3,000 meters (about 10,000 feet) long and is thought to be capable of serving long-range planes, including transport craft, bombers and fighter jets.

Both Vietnam and the Philippines have delivered formal diplomatic protests condemning China’s actions, Reuters reports.

"That's the fear, that China will be able take control of the South China Sea and it will affect freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight," the Philippines’ Foreign Ministry spokesman Charles Jose told reporters on Monday.Read the full story here.

Chinese vessels left a central Vietnamese port Monday with more than 3,500 evacuees.

Chinese vessels left a central Vietnamese port Monday with more than 3,500 evacuees.(People).

The four ships dispatched by China to pull back its nationals affected by the recent violence in Vietnam have left a central Vietnamese port Monday with more than 3,500 evacuees.

The passenger vessels, Wuzhishan, Tongguling, Zijing 12 and Baishiling, are expected to arrive at the Xiuying port of southern Chinese city Haikou on Tuesday.

The four ships, with a capacity of 1,000 passengers each, are part of a massive evacuation operation launched in the immediate aftermath of the deadly riots in Vietnam.

Protests targeting foreign companies in central and southern Vietnamese provinces turned violent Tuesday, leaving at least two Chinese dead and more than 100 injured.

At a time when the safety and legitimate rights of the overseas Chinese are gravely threatened, the government is demonstrating decisiveness, efficiency and a growing capability to protect its people.

"Finally home," many Chinese workers sighed upon boarding Tongguling, with apparent signs of relief on their faces.Read the full story here.

Chinese troops Said to Be amassing Near the Vietnam Border.

Chinese troops Said to Be amassing Near the Vietnam Border. HT: EpochTimes.

Troops, tanks, trucks, artillery, and armored personnel carriers of China’s military were seen heading to the Vietnamese border on May 16 and 17, according to photographs taken by by residents near the border.

Chinese netizens have been posting photographs of the large movement of the People’s Liberation Army, many of them showing Chinese troops in full combat gear heading to the local train station in Chongzuo, along with military vehicles. 

One netizen said the Chinese military was taking the train from the Chongzuo station to Pingxiang City, which shares a 60-mile border with Vietnam. The netizen said that the Huu Nghi Border Gate to Vietnam is also now closed.

One of the photos, taken from inside a passenger train, shows the Chinese military preparing artillery for transport on a train track. Others show Chinese troops and military vehicles traveling along dirt roads.

Another photograph shows troops walking under the red-colored entrance to the Longzhou International Building Materials Market, on Provincial Road in the city of Chongzuo.

A reverse image search of each of the photographs using Google indicated that the photographs had appeared on the Internet only recently. Most were indexed by Google on Saturday.

Collectively, the images and eyewitness reports from the ground show what Taiwanese media are calling an “endless stream” of Chinese troops.

One netizen, with the username Zhiyuan0703, echoed a common sentiment on the Chinese social media site, “Conflict between China and Vietnam is imminent.”Read the full story here.

Related:

Over 3000 Chinese Evacuated (By Boat & Plane) As Vietnam's Anti-China Riots Escalate; Taiwan Also On "High Alert"

Kerry cites Vietnam example for Israel in remarks with Netanyahu.

Kerry cites Vietnam example for Israel in remarks with Netanyahu.HT: IMRA.

I honestly had to wait to see the transcript because I could not believe my ears.

But there it is.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry citing Vietnam as an example.

Here is what he said:

"On a personal level, last month I traveled to Vietnam on my first visit there as Secretary of State. And the transformation in our relationship – I was a young soldier who fought there – the transformation in our relationship is proof that as painful as the past can be, through hard work of diplomacy history’s adversaries can actually become partners for a new day and history’s challenges can become opportunities for a new age."

A reminder of what happened in Vietnam:

#1. A peace agreement was engineered by then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

#2. Henry Kissinger received a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.

#3. The agreement fails.

#4. South Vietnam falls as American forces retreat.

#5. The "boat people" - a flood of refugees from South Vietnam fleeing for their lives.

Now what is the message to Israel?

That John Kerry also expects to get a Nobel Peace Prize regardless of what happens afterwards and that whatever happens after Israel falls, the United States will ultimately transform its relationship with the force that takes over the Jewish State and become a partner of that force?

Oops.Hmmm....."Kerry: I Will Implement 'President Obama's Vision For The World'. Read the full 'story' here.

New virus called CyCV-VN found in brain infection patients in Vietnam, Virus is known to circulate in animals such as birds and pigs.

New virus called CyCV-VN found in brain infection patients in Vietnam, Virus is known to circulate in animals such as birds and pigs.HT: Bloomberg.

Researchers have discovered a new virus in patients in Vietnam suffering from severe brain infections, a team of scientists reported today in mBio, the journal of the American Society for Microbiology.  

The virus was detected in 28 of 644 patients who had severe brain infections and none of 122 patients who had non-infectious brain disorders, according to researchers at the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust South East Asia Major Overseas Program and the Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam. 
It’s tentatively called CyCV-VN and is part of a group of viruses known as Circoviridae known to circulate in animals such as birds and pigs, they said. 

“We don’t yet know whether this virus is responsible for causing the serious brain infections we see in these patients, but finding an infectious agent like this in a normally sterile environment like the fluid around the brain is extremely important,” Rogier van Doorn, head of emerging infections at the Wellcome Trust Vietnam Research Program and Oxford University Clinical Research Unit Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Vietnam, said in a statement.

Brain infections can be fatal and may leave people who survive them with severe disabilities, the researchers said. Bacteria, parasites, fungi and viruses can cause the infections, though doctors can’t pinpoint the cause of more than half of them. The study was funded by the Wellcome Trust, the European Union and the Li Ka-Shing Foundation-University of Oxford Global Health Program.