国内英语新闻:China refutes Philippines' protest against test flights in S. China Sea

BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- China refuted the Philippines' protest against test flights at a newly built airport in the South China Sea, stressing the test flights fall totally within China's sovereignty.

"China enjoys the freedom of overflight in the South China Sea as other countries do," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei at a routine press briefing.

The nature of China's test flights to the airport on Yongshu Jiao is professional, technical and civil, Hong said, adding the flights are being conducted for public interests.

In response to another question regarding the Philippines' plan to issue bond to fund military modernization, Hong urged relevant countries not to turn back the wheel of history and do more to help regional peace and stability.

On Monday, the Philippine Congress asked the Philippine government to study a proposal to issue a 150 billion peso (3.2 billion U.S. dollars) retail bond to fund a long-term military modernization plan to secure its strategic reserves in the South China Sea, according to reports.

The Asian economy and regional cooperation are currently on a sound track, Hong said, adding that peace, cooperation and development have become trends of the times and represent the common aspirations of people around the world.