(UPDATES) MANILA on Saturday urged Beijing to “immediately cease all provocative and dangerous actions that threaten the safety of Philippine vessels and aircraft … within Philippine territory,” accusing China of firing flares at one of its planes as it flew patrols over the South China Sea this month.
“Such actions undermine regional peace and security and further erode the image of the PRC (People’s Republic of China) with the international community,” the Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said in a statement.
This screengrab from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) handout video taken on August 19, 2024, and received on August 24, 2024, shows a Chinese air force fighter jet deploying flares near a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) plane that was conducting a maritime domain awareness flight near China-controlled Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.
Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP
Beijing claims most of the strategic waterway and has been involved in tense maritime confrontations with Manila in recent months, sparking fears of armed conflict that could draw in the United States, a Filipino military ally.
A Chinese fighter jet “engaged in irresponsible and dangerous maneuvers” on August 19 as the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) plane made a “maritime domain awareness flight” near Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, the task force said.
The unprovoked Chinese “harassment” included “deploying flares multiple times at a dangerously close distance of approximately 15 meters from the BFAR Grand Caravan aircraft,” the task force added in a statement.
Flares were also launched near the same plane from the China-held Subi Reef on August 22 as the patrol craft was “monitoring and intercepting poachers encroaching upon the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and the territorial seas” of the Philippines, it added.
Flares are usually employed by military aircraft as decoys to protect them from missiles, but also for illumination.
China’s foreign ministry said on Friday that two Philippine military aircraft flew into Chinese airspace over Subi Reef, which Manila also claims, on August 22.
The Chinese side undertook “necessary countermeasures in accordance with the law, in order to protect its own sovereignty and security,” it said in a statement.
The Philippine government said the BFAR plane was a civilian Cessna aircraft.
The Chinese statement did not mention any August 19 incident over Scarborough Shoal, which China seized from the Philippines at the end of a 2012 standoff.
The Scarborough Shoal incident occurred hours after Philippine and Chinese coast guard vessels collided near Escoda (Sabina) Shoal, with the Filipino side reporting structural damage on both of its patrol ships.
The shoal is located 140 kilometers (86 miles) west of the Philippine island of Palawan and about 1,200 kilometers from Hainan Island, the nearest Chinese landmass.
The Philippines has also accused a Chinese Air Force plane of making a “dangerous maneuver” and dropping flares in the path of a Filipino Air Force plane that was patrolling over Scarborough on August 10.
In June, the Philippine military said one of its sailors lost a thumb in a confrontation off Second Thomas Shoal when the Chinese coast guard, wielding sticks, knives and an axe, 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.
It has continued to press its claims to almost the entire South China Sea despite an international tribunal ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
Meanwhile, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, the chairman of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, urged the international community to support the Philippines in holding China accountable for its recent action of launching flares at a Philippine aircraft patrolling over Zamora Reef. This incident took place in the West Philippine Sea and has raised concerns about respect for international law and the sovereignty of nations.
Estrada’s call comes after reports that China fired flares at a Philippine aircraft patrolling over Zamora Reef and Scarborough Shoal.
The BFAR aircraft was on a mission to monitor and intercept poachers encroaching upon the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and the territorial seas of the Kalayaan Island Group.
Estrada criticized China’s actions, describing them as irresponsible, provocative and violating international law.
He called on China to immediately cease such actions and adhere to international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to peacefully resolve disputes in the West Philippine Sea.
China’s foreign ministry said on Friday that two Philippine military aircraft flew into its airspace over Subi Reef, which Manila also claims, on August 22.
The Chinese side undertook “necessary countermeasures in accordance with the law to protect its own sovereignty and security,” it said in a statement.
The Chinese statement did not mention any August 19 incident over Scarborough Shoal, which China seized from the Philippines at the end of a 2012 standoff.
The Scarborough Shoal incident occurred hours after Philippine and Chinese coast guard vessels collided near Sabina Shoal. The Filipino side reported structural damage to both of its patrol ships.
Beijing has accused Manila of causing the escalation and asserts that its actions to safeguard its claims are both legal and proportional. Despite an international tribunal ruling that its claim has no legal basis, Beijing has persisted in asserting its claims to nearly the entire South China Sea.
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