MANILA, Philippines — Barely two weeks after proof that a “provisional arrangement” over Ayungin Shoal between the Philippines and China could work, tensions between the Asian neighbors are escalating again, this time over Beijing’s “dangerous maneuvers” not at sea, but up in the air.
On August 8, as the Philippines hosted Australia, Canada, and the United States for joint exercises in the West Philippine Sea, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) or the Chinese Air Force tried to disrupt a Philippine Air Force (PAF) maritime patrol over Scarborough Shoal, which is located off Zambales in Central Luzon.
At the same time, China’s Southern Theater Command announced it would hold drills close to the shoal, which they call Huangyan Island.
The PAF’s NC-212i aircraft was subject to “dangerous manuvers” before the PLAAF dropped flares in its path. Video obtained by the Inquirer shows just how close China’s aircraft was to our own NC-212i. Thankfully, nobody got hurt and its crew was back at Clark Air Base an hour later.
The Philippines waited two days to make the incident public — a show, perhaps, of Manila’s more restrained and calculated take on transparency when it comes to incidents in the tense West Philippine Sea.
“The incident posed a threat to Philippine Air Force aircraft and its crew, interfered with lawful flight operations in airspace within Philippine sovereignty and jurisdiction, and contravened international law and regulations governing safety of aviation,” said Armed Forces of the Philippines chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. on Saturday, August 10.
A day after, Malacañang released a statement. “We have hardly started to calm the waters, and it is already worrying that there could be instability in our airspace,” said the Palace, noting that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “strongly [condemned] the air incident in Bajo de Masinloc.”
It’s not the first time for China to use flares on other nations’ aircraft. In May 2024, Canberra accused Beijing of firing flares into the path of its Navy’s helicopter while it was cruising over international waters in the Yellow Sea.
In November 2023, China used flares in front of a Canadian military helicopter over international waters n the South China Sea.
Tensions rise, fall, then rise again
It took weeks to bring tensions down in Ayungin Shoal, homebase of the rusting BRP Sierra Madre, following the harrowing attack of the China Coast Guard on Filipino soldiers during a resupply mission.
Before that, there were months of tensions in sea and back on land — there was the threat of releasing an illegally recorded conversation with a since-sacked Western Command chief, arguments over agreements that China insisted existed, and the China Coast Guard’s liberal use of water cannons against Philippine ships.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr said China’s latest actions over Scarborough Shoal were not “alarming” but part of its “consistent pattern of behavior.”
“They will stick to their narrative, which we know has no international support whatsoever. All they have on their side is brute force, and strength, and might…. Hopefully, they listen to reason and heed the appeals of not only the Philippines, but of other countries to temper their moves and act in accordance with international law,” he told reporters in a chance interview in Camp Aguinaldo Monday morning, August 12.
The narrative is that Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc is China’s.
While the shoal is well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, the question of who should have sovereignty of the high-tide elevation has yet to be determined. But China has controlled the shoal since 2012, after it reneged on a US-brokered deal for both Beijing and Manila to leave the feature following a tense stand-off.
What has it meant for the Philippines? (WATCH: Why is China’s barrier in Bajo de Masinloc dangerous?)
For fisherfolk, it means being unable to fish in their traditional fishing grounds. It means having to fish further out at sea for their livelihood.
It means having one less refuge to turn to should the waters in the open sea turn rough (the waters in the lagoon within the shoal are calmer than the waters surrounding it — hence its other name, Panatag Shoal).
Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, who was also in Camp Aguinaldo on Monday, maintained that the Philippines is “committed… to try and settle the disputes through diplomatic and peaceful means.”
“China has always said it wants to de-escalate. But every time, something like this happens. Certainly, it tends to raise tensions. So it’s something that, certainly, we have to pay close attention to,” he said, admitting that China’s actions “took [them] by surprise.”
What’s next? Certainly, more work for the Philippines’ security, defense, and diplomatic officials.
It’s difficult to imagine for the task to come easy. After all, it was just a little more than a month ago that the Department of Foreign Affairs said both the Philippines and China “recognized that there is a need to restore trust, rebuild confidence, and create conditions conducive to productive dialogue and interaction,” following the 9th Bilateral Consultation Mechanism hosted by Manila.
MSS in Manila?
Also last weekend, we published a story on how a Chinese citizen who arrived in the Philippines as the bureau chief of a Chinese state-run paper, was actually a China Ministry of State Security (MSS) agent who established a network for espionage and influence operations.
In the story, we pointed out that Chinese efforts to infiltrate public institutions — government agencies, the academe, critical industries — are especially worrisome because they could compromise information and cyber security, as well as erode the Filipino’s trust on these institutions.
You can read the story in full here.
For tips or leads, you can reach me through my Rappler email (bea.cupin@rappler.com). – Rappler.com