DFA protests China’s flare dropping during PH patrol over Scarborough

DFA Building. (Photo: Department of Foreign Affairs, Republic of the Philippines/Facebook)

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Priam Nepomuceo, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – The Philippine government has formally protested China’s dangerous maneuver and dropping of flares in the path of a Filipino aircraft conducting patrol over Scarborough Shoal last week.

Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza, in a text message to reporters on Tuesday, confirmed that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) lodged the diplomatic protest against Beijing.

The Philippines will continue to adopt a “de-escalatory approach to tensions in the West Philippine Sea”, as Daza reiterated the country’s commitment to “diplomacy and peaceful means of resolving disputes”.

Two People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) planes executed “dangerous maneuvers in close proximity” to a Philippine Air Force aircraft while the latter was on a routine patrol mission in the skies of Scarborough Shoal on Aug. 8.

The Chinese planes also “deliberately deployed flares” near the PAF aircraft, risking the safety of its Filipino crew, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said.

In an interview at Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo on Monday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said this latest Chinese actions took the Philippines “by surprise” especially as Beijing has conveyed in numerous instances that “it wanted to de-escalate”.

The National Maritime Council will meet this week to discuss the incident and come up with an “appropriate response”, Manalo said.

“China has always said it wanted to de-escalate but everytime of course na may nangyayari na ganito, certainly it tends to raise tensions (China has always said it wanted to deescalate but of course, every time something like this happens, it certainly tends to raise tensions),” he said.

“So, it’s something that certainly we have to pay close attention to but iyon ang sinasabi nila, we have to see if they can really help in maintaining a more stable relationship para magde-escalate nang kaunti ang tensions pero everytime something like this happens, siyempre you begin to think (So, it’s something that certainly we have to pay close attention to but that’s what they say, we have to see if they can really help in maintaining a more stable relationship so that the tensions deescalate a little but every time something like this happens, of course you begin to think),” he added.

The incident came less than a month since the Philippine government announced that it reached a provisional arrangement in Ayungin Shoal, another feature in the West Philippine Sea located near Palawan.

China’s acts raising risks

The Philippine Navy (PN), meanwhile, said Beijing’s latest actions have increased the risk of untoward incidents between Philippine and Chinese militaries.

In a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, PN spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) spokesperson Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad called China’s actions “illegal, unsafe and unprofessional”.

He, however, maintained that the Armed Forces of the Philippines will continue to perform its mandate within the bounds of international law.

“We have our partners and allies. We are showing the world the transparency initiative, (and) all the actions that the (China) PLA (People’s Liberation Army) is doing,” Trinidad said.