The government does not see the landing of China’s military planes on Philippine-claimed Mischief Reef (Panganiban Reef) as a threat but still considers it as a matter of concern.
The government does not see the landing of China’s military planes on Philippine-claimed Mischief Reef (Panganiban Reef) as a threat but still considers it as a matter of concern.
“I don’t see it as a threat but it’s a matter of concern,” National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. told reporters Wednesday on the sidelines of AFP change of command at Camp Aguinaldo.
The Inquirer published surveillance photos of China’s two military transport planes in Mischief Reef in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea), which is located within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone. The images were taken on Jan. 6.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in 2016 that Mischief Reef belongs to the Philippines. Part of the ruling says the reef, located about 125 nautical miles from Palawan, forms part of the Philippines’ EEZ and continental shelf, and China has violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights with its island-building in the area.
China has refused to acknowledge the verdict and continues to insist it has sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea.
Esperon said they have yet to verify the photos but said that planes have landed there previously.
