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Philippines protests China's airspace harassment

Philippines | National

Philippines protests China's airspace harassment

By Joseph Pedrajas

The Philippine government has protested China's firing of flares in the path of a Philippine Air Force (PAF) patrol plane over the West Philippine Sea.

Ma. Teresita Daza, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson, confirmed the government's move, while the Chinese Embassy in Manila on Tuesday remained mum on the incident.

"Yes," Daza said on Tuesday, Aug. 13, when asked if the government already filed a diplomatic protest against China. She did not provide further detail.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, in a House hearing, said the protest was made through a note verbale.

“Without going through the details, the essential points of all these statements were the strong condemnation of the incident and the fact that the PAF plane posed no threat to the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) air force and therefore, these were lawful flight operations," Manalo told the lawmakers.

"They did not violate any sovereignty or jurisdiction, they are within our rights and they entered over our air space,” he added.

President Marcosa hit the "unjustified, illegal and reckless" move made by China's People Liberation Army's Air Force when its multi-role fighter jets made dangerous maneuvers and dropped flares near the PAF patrol plane while flying in the airspace over Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea on August 8.

But despite China's continued harassment, the Philippine government expressed commitment to continue dialogue to manage tensions.

"The Philippines adopts a de-escalatory approach to tensions in the West Philippine Sea. It remains committed to diplomacy and peaceful means of resolving disputes," Daza said Monday.

Related Tags

Diplomatic protest West Philippine Sea Ayungin Shoal

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