A Chinese Navy helicopter flew within 10 feet (3 meters) of a Philippine patrol plane in a conflict zone in the South China Sea on Tuesday, urging Philippine pilots to warn them on radio. “
Chinese helicopters were trying to force a Cessna Caravan Turboprop plane, belonging to the Philippine Fisheries Bureau.
US flies joint patrol with the Philippines near shallow waters protected by China
Associated Press journalists and other foreign media outlets on planes say that when a Philippine plane is patrol at a low height around Scarborough, Chinese Navy helicopters close over it or fly left in cloudy weather , witnessed a nervous 30-minute standoff. .
“You're flying too close, you're very dangerous and dangerous to the lives of our crew and passengers,” the Philippine pilot told a Chinese Navy helicopter on the radio at one point. “We've moved away and kept the aircraft away from us, violating safety standards set by the FAA and ICAO.”
The pilot was referring to the standard distance between aircraft required by the US Federal Aviation Administration and the International Civil Aviation Agency to prevent air disasters.
There was no indication that the Philippine plane had to change its planned route and altitude to avoid a collision.
China's military helicopter will fly near the Philippine Fisheries Bureau and Aquatic (BFAR) aircraft above the Scarborough Shawl on Tuesday, February 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Joeal Calupitan)
The Philippine Coast Guard and Fisheries Bureau said in a statement that “despite China's aggressive and escalating actions, they are committed to asserting our sovereignty, sovereignty and maritime jurisdiction in the Western Philippine Sea.” “It's.”
They referred to the names of the Philippines in the waters of the South China Sea, near the west coast of the Philippines.
The Chinese military referred to the Scarborough shawl in the Chinese name, saying the plane “had illegally entered the airspace of Wangyan Island, China without the Chinese government's permission.”
Theatre Command in southern China has organized the navy and air force to track and warn planes, Colonel Tian Jun-ri, the commander's spokesman, said in a written statement posted online.
The Philippines “confusing good and evil and spreading false stories,” the statement said.
The encounter on Tuesday, set to be protested by the Philippine government, is the latest flashpoint in a decades-long territorial position on one of the busiest trade routes in the world, including China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan .
The conflict on the high seas has skyrocketed among security guards on Chinese and Philippine coasts in Scarborough and Second Thomas Scholl over the past two years. , Navy and other ships.
After a tense standoff with a Filipino ship in 2012, China deployed naval troops around Scarborough.
The following year, the Philippines brought a dispute with China to international arbitration. A 2016 decision by the UN-backed Arbitration Commission has overridden China's vast claims in the South China Sea under the United Nations Convention on Maritime Law.
China, a signator to UNCLOS like the Philippines, has refused to participate in arbitration, rejected the outcome, and continues to deny it.
Faced with Chinese military power, the Philippines under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., resorted to a campaign of embarrassment.
Click here to get the Fox News app
The Philippines is also strengthening security alliances with the US, Japan, Australia, France, Canada, the European Union and other Western countries to enhance external defenses.
The US says it is obligated to defend the Philippines, Asia's oldest treaty ally, if Philippine forces, ships and aircraft are under armed attacks, including the South China Sea. China is warning the US and its allies not to interfere in what is called a purely Asian conflict.
