Manila announced it will intensify monitoring its air space following an incident last week that saw Chinese fighter jets harass a Philippine aircraft over Scarborough Shoal.
Two People’s Liberation Army Air Force fighter jets reportedly harassed a Philippine Air Force NC-212i aircraft in the airspace over the disputed South China Sea feature on the morning of Aug. 8. A video of the incident, released by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, shows a Chinese aircraft deploying flares in front of the Philippine aircraft, in line with statements made by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea. Philippine press releases also claimed the Chinese jets conducted “dangerous maneuvers” and conveyed “hazardous intent.”
Following this latest incident, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea announced the monitoring of Philippine Air Space will be “intensified.” The Philippines currently uses a mix of American, Japanese and Israeli sensors for surveillance operations in the South China Sea.
“Air and maritime security patrol missions will continue within our sovereign territory, airspace, and Exclusive Economic Zone. The monitoring of our country’s airspace will be intensified. Our strong, prepared and highly-motivated Armed Forces will continue land, air, sea and cyberspace, proving time and time again that it is a force for regional peace and stability,” reads the release.
While Beijing’s disputes with Manila over territorial claims have manifested in maritime incidents, as seen around Second Thomas and Scarborough Shoals, Philippine statements following the recent incident raised concerns about the possibility that these disputes could expand into the airspace.
“We have hardly begun to calm the waters, and it is already worrying that there could be instability in our airspace,” according to a release on the incident from the Presidential Office of Communications.
The last publicized run-in between Philippine and Chinese aircraft was last November’s joint patrol in the South China Sea with Australia, which saw two Philippine Air Force A-29B Super Tucanos encounter two Chinese fighter jets over Hubo Reef. However, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Romeo Brawner said there was no incident and the patrol continued without harassment.
Chinese military aircraft are consistently seen operating within the air defense identification zones of South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. However, in Manila’s case, the focus has been on maritime domain awareness to monitor the large numbers of Chinese vessels operating within the country’s exclusive economic zone. The Philippine Air Force, among the smallest in Southeast Asia, is ill-equipped to respond and challenge Chinese aircraft. Noting this lack of aerial capabilities, Manila reportedly has prioritized the procurement of fighter jets in the next phase of its military modernization program.
This incident comes on the heels of a multilateral joint patrol among the Philippines, Australia, Canada and the U.S. in the South China Sea off Palawan and Northern Luzon. The Philippines looks to its partners to assist in modernizing its forces through training and defense assistance as well as to provide political support through joint patrols and treaties.
