"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 told CNN after news reports appeared that China has landed a military jet on a man-made island in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.
"It is unclear why the Chinese used a military aircraft, as opposed to a civilian one," Davis said.
China said it landed a military aircraft on this newly build island for the first time to evacuate three critically ill construction workers.
However, experts here have described this as China asserting its military power in the South China Sea.
The Chinese move comes days after the US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter landed abroad a US aircraft carrier, which experts said was aimed at delivering a message to China.
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