On Sunday, the Philippines strongly condemned China’s “unjustified, illegal, and reckless” actions against one of its aircraft conducting patrols in the contested South China Sea earlier in the week. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. issued a statement expressing his “strong condemnation” of the air incident and voiced support for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), particularly the Philippine Air Force (PAF).
According to the country’s state news agency, the Armed Forces of the Philippines reported on August 10 that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) engaged in “dangerous and provocative actions” against a PAF plane during a maritime patrol over Bajo de Masinloc, located about 120 nautical miles from the coast of Zambales, within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The incident occurred on August 8 at around 9 a.m. near Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) when two Chinese fighter jets performed a hazardous maneuver and dropped flares in the path of the PAF’s NC-212i aircraft.
Scarborough Shoal, which is controlled by China, has been a point of contention since China seized it in 2012 after a standoff with the Philippines. While the Philippines refers to the area as the West Philippine Sea, the sovereignty of the islands remains unresolved by an international court.
In a statement posted on social media, the Presidential Palace, Malacanang, criticized the PLAAF’s actions as “unjustified, illegal, and reckless,” emphasizing that the PAF aircraft was conducting a routine maritime security operation within Philippine sovereign airspace. The statement also expressed concern about the potential for instability in the region, stating, “We have hardly started to calm the waters, and it is already worrying that there could be instability in our airspace.”
China, however, has claimed that the Philippine aircraft “illegally entered the airspace” over its Huangyan Dao in the South China Sea, according to a statement from the Southern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), as reported by China’s state-run Global Times.
Recently, the Philippines and China reached an agreement to allow seamless resupply of Filipino troops stationed at Ayungin Shoal, according to state media PNA. President Marcos reiterated the Philippines’ commitment to “proper diplomacy and peaceful means of resolving disputes” and urged China to “demonstrate that it is fully capable of responsible action, both in the seas and in the skies.”
China claims the entirety of the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, where the Philippines holds sovereignty, but refuses to recognize a 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated its claims and affirmed the Philippines’ EEZ. In response, the Philippines has sought support from its international allies, including the United States, and has been bolstering its military capabilities.
Meanwhile, Chinese state media Xinhua criticized the current Philippine government under Marcos for “actively engaging in reckless provocations” in the South China Sea. It accused the Philippines of misleading the international community by exaggerating the significance of an “arbitration award” from eight years ago to conceal its alleged infringements on China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime interests. The editorial also described the South China Sea arbitration case as “a pure political drama” orchestrated in the name of the law, with the United States “pulling strings behind the scenes.”