MANILA – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Aug 11 condemned Chinese air force actions over waters of the South China Sea claimed by both countries, calling the actions “unjustified, illegal and reckless”.
Manila and Beijing accused each other on Aug 10 of disrupting their militaries’ operations around Scarborough Shoal. It was the first incident since Mr Marcos took office in 2022 in which the Philippines has complained of dangerous actions by Chinese aircraft, as opposed to navy or coast guard vessels.
Two Chinese air force aircraft undertook a “dangerous manoeuvre” and dropped flares in the path of a Philippine Air Force (PAF) plane over Scarborough Shoal on Aug 8, according to the Philippine military.
Manila said the Chinese actions put the lives of its crew in danger, but that the patrol plane returned safely to base.
The Chinese actions were “unjustified, illegal and reckless, especially as the PAF aircraft was undertaking a routine maritime security operation in Philippine sovereign airspace”, Mr Marcos said in a statement.
China defended its operations on Aug 10, saying it “organised naval and air forces to lawfully… (drive) away” the Philippine plane, following “repeated warnings”.
“We sternly warn the Philippines to immediately stop its infringement, provocation, distortion and hype,” said a statement from the Southern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army, adding that “China has indisputable sovereignty over Huangyan Island (Scarborough Shoal) and adjacent waters”.
On Aug 11, Mr Marcos urged China to act responsibly both in the seas and in the skies.
“We have hardly started to calm the waters, and it is already worrying that there could be instability in our airspace,” Mr Marcos said in a statement posted by the Presidential Communications Office on the social media platform X.
Dr Chester Cabalza, president of the Manila-based think-tank International Development and Security Cooperation, said China’s actions were a “show of force” in response to Manila’s participation in multi-nation drills that promote freedom of navigation and overflight.
“After a series of grey zone tactics at sea, we may probably see dog fights up in the sky if China continues its growing antagonism in the Philippines’ air and defence zones,” Dr Cabalza said.
The incident follows a series of increasingly tense confrontations between Manila and Beijing, which claims most of the South China Sea and seized Scarborough Shoal after a 2012 stand-off with the Philippines.
In June, the Philippine military said one of its sailors lost a thumb in a confrontation off Second Thomas Shoal, in another area of the South China Sea, when the Chinese coast guard also confiscated or destroyed Philippine equipment, including guns.
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Publish date : 2024-08-10 20:42:00
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