Metro Manila, Philippines— The Philippine government will increase or expand air patrols and airspace after Chinese jets released flares near the path of a Philippine Air Force aircraft over Scarborough Shoal (Bajo de Masinloc) on Aug. 8.
Manila will take other steps besides the filing of a diplomatic protest against Beijing against “unjustified actions” of the China air force.
“The National Maritime Council will take further steps to show the People’s Republic of China to show our strong condemnation over the incident in Bajo De Masinloc,” National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said in an interview with NewsWatch Plus
The National Maritime Council will meet this week to discuss more measures apart from filing the diplomatic protest, said Malaya without going into details.He said the government is considering conducting more air patrols in response to China. “China’s illegal, coercive,aggressive and deceptive actions have now shifted and expanded from the maritime domain to the aerial domain. Given that significant change in behavior kailangan na rin natin i-monitor mga galaw nila sa himpapawid,” said Malaya. [Translate: China’s illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions have now shifted and expanded from the maritime domain to the aerial domain. Given this significant change in behavior, we now also need to monitor their movements in the air.]
The NSC official said the military is now aware of China’s aggressive actions in the airspace, which is an important first step.
“This calibration does not mean na hindi na tayo mag-papatrolya, we are expanding our patrols, Secretary Eduardo Ano said the monitoring of Philippine airspace will be intensified and all maritime and air patrol missions will continue within our sovereign territory and exclusive economic zone,” he added. Malaya talked about the capability to conduct more patrols.“We do have some assets given the expanse of our air domain kailangan pa natin ng mas marami,” he said.
PH position on airspace
Malaya said the same rules apply insofar as maritime rights as discussed during the meeting of the National Task Force in the West Philippine Sea. “Our right to conduct air patrols in our exclusive economic zone (EEZ) stems from the fact that under UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) is part of the maritime zones of the Philippines. If our BFAR vessels, coast guard vessels on the ground or on sea, it is also the right of the Philippines to send air patrols to ensure that ang Pilipinas lang ang nakikinabang sa resources sa karagatan,” said Malaya. [Translate: Our right to conduct air patrols in our exclusive economic zone stems from the fact that under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, it is part of the maritime zones of the Philippines. If our Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessels or coast guard vessels are on the ground or at sea, it is also the right of the Philippines to send air patrols to ensure that only the Philippines benefits from the resources in our waters.]The Department of Foreign Affairs said the conduct of maritime patrols in waters around Bajo de Masinloc is a legitimate and routine act of a sovereign country. The Chinese Foreign Ministry, on the other hand, accused the Philippines of intruding into Chinese territory.
