China has sent tensions in the South China Sea soaring with its latest military stunt amid an ongoing dispute with the Philippines over regional sovereignty.
Manila filed a complaint against Beijing after its jets flew dangerously close and fired a volley of flares in the path of a Philippine Air Force patrol plane over a disputed shoal in the contested body of water.
The Chinese air force jets’ hostile actions over the Scarborough Shoal was the first such aerial encounter since high-seas hostilities between Beijing and Manila in the busy seaway started to flare last year.
Philippine military chief Gen Romeo Brawner Jr did not report any injuries or damage but said the stunt could have had tragic consequences as he condemned the Chinese.
Gen Brawner told the press: “If the flares came into contact with our aircraft, these could have been blown into the propeller or the intake or burned our plane. It was very dangerous.”
Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Teresita Daza said without elaborating that a diplomatic protest has been transmitted to China.
“We call on the government of the People’s Republic of China to cease all forms of provocative and hazardous acts that could undermine the safety of Filipino military and civilian personnel in the waters or in the skies, destabilise regional peace, and erode the trust and confidence of the international community in the PRC,” a Philippine government task force overseeing the South China Sea said Monday.
Despite the encounter, Philippine monitoring of its airspace would be intensified, the task force said.
The Southern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army claimed a Philippine air force aircraft “illegally” entered the airspace above the shoal, which China claims disrupted its combat training activities.
It added the command sent jets and ships to identify, track, and drive away the Philippine aircraft. They also warned the Philippines to “stop its infringement, provocation, distortion and hyping-up.”