Embassies air concern over Chinese chopper incident in Scarborough

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

TOO CLOSE. A helicopter of the China People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy hovers close to a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources aircraft conducting a routine flight over Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea on Feb. 18, 2025. Various foreign missions in the Philippines have criticized the Chinese PLA Navy helicopter’s dangerous maneuver. (Photo courtesy of PCG)

MANILA – Several foreign missions in the Philippines have conveyed concern over the recent incident at the Scarborough Shoal involving a Chinese Navy helicopter that flew as close as 3 meters from a Filipino aircraft on Feb. 18.

These are the embassies of Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and the United States in the Philippines, as well as the European Union Delegation in Manila.

The New Zealand Embassy said Friday the behavior of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy helicopter against the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) plane “poses real risk to safety and lives.”

Such acts, it said, also “risk undermining regional stability.”

The United Kingdom, on the other hand, expressed “deep concern” and called for adherence to international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

“The UK is deeply concerned over reports of dangerous actions by a PLA Navy helicopter towards a BFAR aircraft over Scarborough Shoal. These acts increase the risk of miscalculation, which endangers lives,” UK Ambassador to the Philippines Laure Beaufils said.

READ: US State Dept. hits China over chopper incident; vows support to PH

The South Korean Embassy in Manila said it shares its concern over the incident, noting that the PLA Navy chopper’s “dangerous air maneuvers” could have jeopardized the Filipino plane and its personnel on board.

“The Embassy reaffirms its support for peace, stability, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS,” it said.

Australian Ambassador to the Philippines HK Yu, meanwhile, said such conduct “creates risks of accident and miscalculation.

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Disputes, she said, “must be resolved peacefully under international law.”

In a post on X, Denmark Ambassador to the Philippines Franz-Michael Mellbin said he is also “deeply concerned” that “China continues to carry out dangerous aerial maneuvers in the West Philippine Sea.”

These actions, he said, “violate international law and put lives at risk.”

Similarly, he called on all parties to “respect freedom of the skies, UNCLOS and the 2016 Arbitral Award.”

The incident occurred while the BFAR aircraft was conducting a maritime domain awareness flight over the territorial airspace of Scarborough Shoal.

It follows a separate incident where a Chinese fighter jet deployed flares close to an Australian aircraft that was on a routine maritime patrol in the South China Sea.