Philippines to protest China’s dropping of flares

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will file a diplomatic protest against Beijing over an incident late last week when Chinese military planes made menacing maneuvers and dropped flares in the path of a Philippine Air Force (PAF) aircraft on patrol over Panatag Shoal.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo made the announcement yesterday, saying the incident – which happened on Thursday – took Philippine authorities by surprise, as it came just a few days after Manila and Beijing agreed at a meeting to exert greater effort to better manage maritime disputes.

“Definitely, we will protest this latest move, coming at a time when things had calmed down a bit – and this suddenly happened. The President has come out very strongly on this and we will maintain that position,” Manalo told reporters during the commemoration of the International Humanitarian Law Day and the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

“I don’t know why they (Chinese) did it. All I can say is, they took us by surprise,” he added.

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. emphasized the importance of formally protesting and condemning the “dangerous” and “provocative” action of Chinese aircraft against a PAF aircraft on routine patrol.

“We cannot just let this go unanswered. If we do, it’s like acquiescing,” Teodoro said.

Without any provocation, two China Air Force aircraft made dangerous maneuvers near a PAF NC-212i aircraft on a patrol mission and deployed flares, endangering the lives of the Filipino crew.

“It’s prohibited to fly that close to another aircraft and deploy flares in its path. That is wrong. That maneuver was very dangerous, illegal and provocative,” said Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr.

The Philippines and China convened last month the 9th Meeting in their Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea (BCM) in Manila.

After the meeting, both sides recognized the need for restoring trust, rebuilding confidence and creating conditions conducive to productive dialogue and interaction.

Manila and Beijing, during the meeting, also affirmed their commitment to de-escalate tensions without prejudice