China took Philippines '' by surprise'' with aircraft's action in vicinity of Scarborough Shoal: DFA
By Robina Asido
China took the Philippines "by surprise" when its military multirole fighter aircraft dropped flares in the path of a Philippine Air Force (PAF) plane patrolling the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal on August 8, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Monday.
"I don't know why they did it. That is what I can say, they took us by surprise," Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said in an ambush interview after the celebration of the 2024 International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Day and 75th Geneva Conventions Anniversary in Camp Aguinaldo on Monday.
Manalo said the Philippines will file a diplomatic protest and added that the National Maritime Council is expected to discuss the incident this week.
"The National Maritime Council will meet, I understand, this week to discuss the incident and then the appropriate response. Definitely we'll protest this latest move that is coming at a time that the situation has calmed down a bit, then it suddenly happened. The president has come out very strongly on this and we will maintain that position," he said.
He emphasized that the incident happened after China and Philippines just "reached an understanding the other week" under the bilateral consultation mechanism (BCM) to de-escalate the tension in the West Philippines Sea.
On Saturday, Chinese English language newspaper Global Times reported that the Southern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) said the PAF plane ''had illegally intruded into their airspace and interfered with China’s regular training activities despite repeated warnings from the Chinese side.''
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the recent incident is not alarming, noting that it is ''a continuous pattern'' that the Philippines would have to expect from China.
"I do not think it's alarming. It's a response that we should need to be acclimated to," Teodoro told reporters in an interview during the same event.
"The National Maritime Council will consider these things but we have to expect that it is a continuous pattern that will be done by China to us, it is a continuous struggle for presence and for assertion of sovereign rights in the area so you will have to expect these things to happen," he added
However, Teodoro also expressed hope that China will act in accordance with international law as he noted that China's harassment is also considered a violation of International Humanitarian Law.
"All they have on their side is brute force, and might and that's what they're gonna do. Hopefully they will listen to reason and heed the appeals of not only the Philippines and other countries to temper their moves and act in accordance with international law," he said.
"It's a violation of the rights of Filipino fisherfolk to earn a livelihood, it's a violation of the rights of the future generations of Filipinos to the sovereign rights under the exclusive economic zone and perhaps even the continental shelf," he noted.
Despite the recent incident, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. told troops ''not to get scared'' and continue its maritime patrol operation within the Philippine territory.
"We told our pilots not to get scared and continue the maritime patrol in the area because that is our right. We have been doing this for more than three decades already. Since the US military base was removed, we are the one who led the patrol in our maritime and sovereign areas," he said.
"Secretary Teodoro said we expect to continue to see this occurrence in the future so we will continue our patrol operation and we told our AFP personnel not to be afraid not just our pilots but also our sailors, we should continue our maritime patrol," he added. DMS
