AFP tells China military to stop aggressive actions in West PH Sea

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Wednesday called on the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of China to stop its aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea following an incident in the skies over Bajo de Masinloc.

In a statement, AFP spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla said the Chinese military should observe the Philippine sovereignty and international law.

"The AFP asserts that the People's Liberation Army-Navy's illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions in the West Philippine Sea must stop," Padilla said.

"We urge the PLA-Navy to respect Philippine sovereignty and comply with international law to promote rules-based order and regional peace," she added.

According to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BAFR) aircraft was holding a maritime domain awareness flight at about 7 a.m. Tuesday when the incident occurred.

Coast Guard personnel and photojournalists were onboard the BFAR aircraft when the PLAN helicopter, with tail number 68, approached it at 8:39 a.m., coming as close as 3 meters its port side and above it.

'Endangered' lives

The Chinese chopper's moves posed a serious risk to the safety of the pilots and passengers, the Philippine Coast Guard had said, violating International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regulations.

Also on Wednesday, the PCG described the helicopter's flight as the Chinese military's "most dangerous" action so far. 

The PCG said the PLAN also tailed the BFAR aircraft for over 40 minutes.

Padilla said this was a blatant disregard for internationally accepted norms on good airmanship and flight safety.

"The reckless maneuvers of a PLAN helicopter near the BFAR aircraft over Bajo de Masinloc endangered the lives of the pilots and its passengers onboard," she said.

"The AFP, together with national maritime agencies will continue to conduct lawful maritime operations to safeguard our territorial integrity and protect our people," she added.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the United States criticized Wednesday the "dangerous" maneuvers of the PLAN helicopter "that endangered pilots and passengers on a Philippine air mission."

Black and white

Meanwhile, the PLA Southern Theater Command said the Philippines was spreading "false narratives" as regards the incident.

"On February 18, a Philippine C-208 reconnaissance aircraft illegally intruded into China's territorial airspace over Huangyan Dao without permission of the Chinese government. Moreover, the Philippine side spread false narratives by talking black into white," spokesperson Air Force Senior Colonel Tian Junli said.

The Chinese Embassy on Wednesday said, "Huangyan Dao is China's inherent territory. Without the approval of the Chinese government, the Philippine aircraft illegally intruded into Chinese airspace. Forces of the theater command have to resolutely safeguard our national sovereignty and security."

The Philippines is set to file a diplomatic protest over the incident.

Bajo de Masinloc is located 124 nautical miles off Masinloc, Zambales, and is considered within the Philippines' 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, based on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Bajo de Masinloc is also referred to as Panatag Shoal and Scarborough Shoal.

Tensions continue as Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

Parts of the South China Sea that fall within Philippine territory have been renamed by the government as West Philippine Sea to reinforce the country’s claim.

The West Philippine Sea refers to the maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago including Luzon Sea and the waters around, within and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis."

China has refused to recognize the decision. — VDV, GMA Integrated News