Phl protesting China’s use of flares at WPS

The Philippines is set to file a new diplomatic protest against China for dropping flares in the path of a Philippine Air Force aircraft conducting a routine maritime patrol over Scarborough Shoal last week.

“Definitely, we will protest this latest move, especially since it comes at a time when things had calmed down a bit. Then suddenly this happened,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo told reporters in an ambush interview on Monday.

According to Manalo, the Philippines’ response to China’s actions, which included “dangerous maneuvers,” would be properly discussed with the National Maritime Council.

Last Thursday, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) carried out hazardous maneuvers and released flares in the path of a Philippine Air Force NC-212i propeller aircraft over Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. described the move as “unjustified, illegal and reckless.”

“We have hardly started to calm the waters, and it is worrying that there could be instability in our airspace,” Malacañang said over the weekend.

“The Philippines will always remain committed to proper diplomacy and peaceful means of resolving disputes. However, we strongly urge China to demonstrate that it is fully capable of responsible action, both on the seas and in the skies,” it added.

Earlier in the day, Ma. Teresita Daza, spokesperson of the Department of Foreign Affairs, said the diplomatic protest was expected to be filed “within the day.”

Daza said the recent incident, however, would not affect the provisional understanding between the Philippines and China on the country’s rotational and resupply (RoRe) missions to the BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal.

“On the question of the effect of the incident on the provisional understanding, please note the provisional understanding applies only to RoRe missions in Ayungin Shoal,” she said in a WhatsApp message.

“But the Philippines adopts a de-escalatory approach to tensions in the WPS. It remains committed to diplomacy and peaceful means of resolving disputes,” she added.

Consistent pattern

For his part, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said China’s release of flares in the air over Scarborough Shoal was expected as part of its “consistent pattern.”

“We have to expect that it is a consistent pattern,” Teodoro told reporters in a separate interview. “This is a continuous struggle for presence and for assertion of sovereign rights in the area, so you have to expect these things to happen.”

He noted that China’s actions in the WPS are something Filipinos should get “acclimated to.”

China claims the vast South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, where Scarborough Shoal is located 120 nautical miles from Bajo de Masinloc in Zambales and is considered a traditional fishing ground of Filipinos.

Teodoro urged China to abide by international law and de-escalate the tension in the South China Sea, an important shipping passage for global trade and investments.

“Hopefully, China will abide by international law and the need to de-escalate, especially if their narrative is false,” he said.