THE Philippines lodged a fresh diplomatic protest against China after several Chinese air assets flew near Philippine aircraft operating in the Scarborough Shoal, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said on Saturday. The incident took place last week, and the protest was filed shortly after.
“I think we filed last week on the Scarborough. I saw the note verbale last week,” Manalo stated on the sidelines of an event in Taguig.
While Manalo did not confirm whether Manila summoned Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian over the incident, he said the ambassador was out of the country when it occurred.
Earlier this week, the Presidential Office for Maritime Concerns condemned the “unprofessional and reckless flight maneuvers” of a Chinese Harbin Z-9 helicopter that “hovered as close as three meters above a BFAR Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX aircraft conducting a routine maritime domain awareness flight over Bajo de Masinloc on February 18.”
The statement described Beijing’s actions as “demonstrating a lack of regard for internationally-accepted norms on good airmanship and flight safety.”
The recent aerial shadowing is the latest in a series of Chinese actions deemed aggressive by the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea, a region that falls within the country’s exclusive economic zone.
