Philippines to protest China military chopper's 'dangerous' actions
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will file a diplomatic protest after a Chinese military helicopter flew dangerously close to a Philippine patrol plane over Scarborough Shoal on Tuesday morning, February 18 —performing what officials called "blatantly hazardous" maneuvers that endangered the crew.
A People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy helicopter shadowed and hovered as close as three meters above a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) aircraft yesterday, which was carrying Coast Guard personnel and photojournalists during a routine maritime patrol.
The National Maritime Council condemned on Wednesday, February 19 the "unprofessional and reckless flight maneuvers" of the PLA Navy chopper.
Disturbed by the actions of China's military aircraft, the council said the Philippine government would "issue a formal diplomatic protest on this grave incident."
"This blatantly hazardous action endangered the safety of the pilots and passengers onboard. It demonstrated a lack of regard for internationally accepted norms on good airmanship and flight safety," the council said.
The mid-air encounter marks another flashpoint between Manila and Beijing in the skies above the South China Sea, where civilian BFAR vessels have faced increasing encounters with Chinese military aircraft.
Not the first time. Last August, two Chinese fighter jets also released flares in front of a BFAR maritime patrol flight over Scarborough Shoal. This incident prompted the Philippines to condemn China's "provocative" actions.
That encounter sparked intense discussions in Manila about the urgent need to modernize the Philippines' air defense capabilities to protect civilian maritime patrols in contested waters.
China's account. Beijing on Tuesday released its own account of the aerial confrontation. A spokesperson of the PLA Southern Theater Command, as quoted by the Beijing-run Global Times, said the Philippine aircraft had entered its "territorial airspace" without permission.
Minutes after the PLA Navy helicopter approached the Philippine aircraft, one of the Filipino pilots issued a radio challenge telling China's military helicopter to keep distance.
"You are flying too close; you are very dangerous and endangering the lives of our crew and passengers," the Filipino pilot said.
The incident occurred at around 7 a.m. while the BFAR aircraft was conducting maritime domain awareness operations, a routine patrol aimed at monitoring fishing activities and maritime conditions in Philippine waters.
Coast Guard personnel and media representatives were documenting the mission when the Chinese helicopter, identified as a Harbin Z-9 with tail number 68, made its approach.
The Philippine Coast Guard said China's helicopter violated international aviation regulations.
Australia's experience. The incident comes just days after Australia condemned China for what it called an "unsafe and unprofessional" encounter, where Chinese forces reportedly deployed flares near an Australian patrol aircraft in the South China Sea.
Australia rejected Beijing's claims that its aircraft had "deliberately intruded into China's airspace."
Moving forward. The maritime council said that China's "illegal, coercive, and aggressive behavior" would not deter the Philippines from conducting routine maritime operations in accordance with its sovereign rights over Scarborough Shoal.
Manila will continue to safeguard its maritime interests in line with Republic Act 12064 or the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and international law, particularly UNCLOS and the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award, the council added.
Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc, has been a persistent source of tensions between the Philippines and China since 2012.
The Philippines maintains that the shoal, lying approximately 124 nautical miles from its mainland, falls well within its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.
China claims historic rights over the feature, which it calls Huangyan Dao. This is despite a 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated its expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea.
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