The United States slammed China on Monday after the latter landed a military jet at a newly-built airstrip on the disputed Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea.

Lu Kang, spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, explained the military aircraft landed on the island to airlift three sick civilian workers to a hospital in Hainan island on Sunday.

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The US military, however, slammed Beijing and refused to accept its alibi, questioning why it had to use a military jet instead of a civilian one if indeed the flight mission was for a humanitarian purpose.

Fiery Cross Reef

"We're aware that a Chinese military aircraft landed at Fiery Cross Reef on Sunday in what China described as a humanitarian operation to evacuate three ill workers," Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said.

"It is unclear why the Chinese used a military aircraft, as opposed to a civilian one, " he pointed out.

China has dismissed the US' protest, saying its latest landing on the runway was part of a rescue mission and was it carried out in it's own territory.

Man-made islands

The United States has criticized China for its construction of man-made islands in areas also being claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei in the South China Sea.

The US said Beijing continues to build artificial islands in waters, which are thousands of miles from the mainland.

US military officials have expressed concern particularly about the Fiery Cross Reef, one of the man-made islands constructed by China, after Beijing built an airstrip large enough to accommodate military aircrafts.

US military officials are unsure on whether this is the first time a Chinese military jet has landed on the newly-built airstrip on the Fiery Cross Reef.

China completed construction of the airstrip last year on the reclaimed island which stretches up to 1.8 miles. So far, two civilian test flights have been conducted on the runway this year.

TagsFiery Cross Reef, South China Sea, military jet landing, humanitarian operation, Pentagon, us military, Chinese Foreign Ministry