(UPDATES) THE Philippine military on Saturday accused China’s air force of “dangerous and provocative actions” against one of its planes patrolling over a disputed South China Sea reef.
Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said a Philippine Air Force (PAF) NC-212i aircraft was conducting a routine maritime patrol over Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) on Aug. 8 when two Chinese fighter jets executed a dangerous maneuver at around 9 a.m. and dropped flares in the path of the NC-212i.
Brawner said the pilots and crew of the NC-212i were able to safely return to Clark Air Base at 10 a.m. and that all personnel on board were unharmed.
However, he said the incident posed a threat to the PAF aircraft and its crew, interfered with lawful flight operations in airspace within Philippine sovereignty and jurisdiction, and contravened international law and regulations governing safety of aviation.
ROUGH WATERS Map shows occupied or administered islands in the disputed South China Sea, including Scarborough Shoal where China on Aug. 7, 2024, carried out a ‘combat patrol’ in the area and the day after, with two of its air force planes executing ‘a dangerous maneuver’ and ‘dropping flares’ in the path of a Philippine military aircraft that was on patrol, according to Armed Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner. IMAGE BY AFP
Brawner said they have reported the incident to the Department of Foreign Affairs and the relevant government agencies.
“We reaffirm our commitment to exercise our rights in accordance with international law, particularly Unclos and the Chicago Convention,” he said, referring to the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea.
China warned the Philippines on Saturday to stop “infringement” around the disputed reef after the Philippines reported the incident.
“We sternly warn the Philippines to immediately stop its infringement, provocation, distortion and hype,” the Southern Theater Command (STC) of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said in a statement, adding that “China has indisputable sovereignty over Huangyan Island (Scarborough Shoal) and adjacent waters.”
In an earlier statement, the PLA STC said it had organized a joint combat-readiness patrol in air space and waters near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea..
The allegation of dangerous maneuvers by the Chinese jets was the latest in an increasingly tense confrontation between Manila and Beijing, which claims most of the South China Sea and seized the shoal after a 2012 standoff with the Philippines.
In an earlier clash the Philippine military said one of its sailors lost a thumb in a confrontation off Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in another area of the South China Sea in June in which the Chinese coast guard also confiscated or destroyed Philippine equipment including guns.
Beijing has blamed the escalation on Manila and maintains its actions to protect its claims are legal and proportional.
Following the Ayungin Shoal clash the two countries agreed on a “provisional arrangement” for resupplying Filipino troops based on a decrepit warship grounded atop the reef, and also to increase the number of communication lines to resolve disputes in the waterway.
The Chinese air force action Thursday took place a day after China carried out a combat patrol near the flashpoint reef to test the “strike capabilities” of its troops.
‘Provocative actions’
Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, brushing off rival claims of several Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, and an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
Panatag Shoal, a triangular chain of reefs and rocks, is 240 kilometers west of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon and nearly 900 kilometers from the nearest major Chinese land mass of Hainan.
Brawner said the Philippine military “strongly condemns the dangerous and provocative actions of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force that endangered the lives of our personnel undertaking maritime security operations recently within Philippine maritime zones.”
“The incident posed a threat to Philippine Air Force aircraft and its crew, interfered with lawful flight operations in airspace within Philippine sovereignty and jurisdiction, and contravened international law and regulations governing safety of aviation,” he added.
A Philippine military spokesman said the Chinese aircraft involved in the incident were “MRF,” an abbreviation for multi-role fighter jets.
The Indonesia-built NC212i is a multi-role turboprop plane designed for maritime surveillance, troop transport, and medical evacuation, the manufacturer’s website said.
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