Philippines Condemns China’s ‘Reckless’ Actions Over South China Sea Airspace Incident

The Philippines denounced China's 'unjustified, illegal and reckless' actions against its patrol plane in the South China Sea. President Marcos condemned the air incident involving Chinese fighter jets. Meanwhile, China claims the Philippine aircraft entered its airspace illegally. Diplomatic tensions remain high over territorial disputes.

The Philippines on Sunday denounced China's 'unjustified, illegal and reckless' actions against one of its planes that was conducting patrols earlier in the week in the disputed South China Sea. President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr 'strongly condemns' the air incident and stands by the brave men and women of the Armed Forces, especially the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

State news agency cited the Armed Forces of the Philippines reporting on August 10 about 'dangerous and provocative actions' of China's People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), which harassed a PAF aircraft over Bajo de Masinloc, located within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The incident occurred on August 8 when two Chinese fighter jets executed a dangerous maneuver and dropped flares in the path of the NC-212i.

Scarborough Shoal, controlled by China since 2012, remains disputed. The Philippines calls it the West Philippine Sea. 'The actions of the PLAAF aircraft were unjustified, illegal and reckless,' said the Presidential Palace, emphasizing the PAF aircraft was on a routine maritime security operation in Philippine airspace.

China, however, claimed that the Philippine aircraft 'illegally entered the airspace' over its Huangyan Dao. The Southern Theater Command of China's PLA released a statement on Saturday, as cited by state-run Global Times.

The Philippines and China have recently agreed to allow seamless resupply of Filipino troops in Ayungin Shoal. President Marcos stressed the Philippines remains committed to 'proper diplomacy and peaceful means of resolving disputes' while urging China for responsible actions in both seas and skies.

China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, rejecting a 2016 arbitral ruling supporting the Philippines' EEZ. The Philippines has sought support from international allies, including the United States, to bolster its military capabilities.

Chinese state media Xinhua criticized the Philippine government for 'reckless provocations' and accused it of misleading the international community about the 2016 arbitral ruling, terming it a 'political drama' influenced by the United States.

(With inputs from agencies.)