MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine fisheries bureau plane was threatened by flares fired from a Chinese island base while conducting a routine patrol in…
A Philippine fisheries bureau plane was threatened by flares fired from a Chinese island base while conducting a routine patrol in the South China Sea, Philippine officials said Saturday, the latest territorial spat between Beijing and Manila over one of the world’s busiest trade routes, with confrontations spreading from the disputed waters to the airspace above.
China has been at odds with several other countries in the Asia-Pacific for years over its sweeping maritime claims, including almost all of the South China Sea.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ Cessna 208B Grand Caravan plane was flying near Subi Reef on Thursday when it spotted flares being fired from the fishing atoll, which China has transformed into a militarized island base, a Philippine government interagency task force said in a statement.
No other details were provided, including the distance of the flares from the Philippine plane and if it proceeded with its patrol to monitor for poachers in the internationally recognized exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.
The same Philippine fisheries plane was subjected to “harassment” on Aug. 19 when a Chinese air force fighter jet “engaged in irresponsible and dangerous maneuvers, deploying flares multiple times at a dangerously close distance of approximately 15 meters (yards)” near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine task force said.
