Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the government of China on its recent decision to land civilian planes on Fiery Cross reef in the disputed South China Sea.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) expressed our concerns about the situation in the South China Sea during his visit to Beijing on 5 January. He stressed the need to avoid raising tensions and underlined the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation and overflight.